Begin Again
by Misha Young
Summary: Hermione is still reeling from Ron's death and the anxiety of facing her pregnancy alone. Fred is experiencing growing pains now that George and Angelina are engaged. A tight friendship and some solace form as Fred and Hermione grow closer; but is it just friendship still? (Formally: New Beginning to Love). HG&FW with some AJ&GW and HP&GiW **art is not mine. Now Complete.
1. So It Is

_Hey there! So I decided that I couldn't leave 'New Beginning to Love' to wither away any more. It looked so sad. So I took it down and am in the process of rewriting/ editing it._

 _Hope you all enjoy!_

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Ch1 – So it is

Hermione sat alone in the top most room of the Burrow. Her soft brown eyes swept over the vacant room, but saw nothing. She absentmindedly twirled her most prized possession through her skinny fingers. The tiny ring did not fit her anymore. Hermione's family and the doctors at St. Mungo's had become extremely concerned; she had lost an excessive amount of weight since the Battle of Hogwarts. Though it felt like a lifetime ago as she shuffled through her memories, in reality, it had only been five months.

A single small tear escaped down her cheek as scenes from that day came crashing back to her mind.

* * *

 _"No Hermione, you have to stay here. I need you to stay safe..." Ron's eyes were rimmed in red and Hermione knew that she couldn't deny the pleading in his voice. "Please? Please, stay here?"_

 _Hermione hesitantly nodded her head._

 _Before she could react, Ron grabbed her into a tight embrace and kissed her soundly on the lips. For a few brief moments, the war melted away. He drew back, held her face between his hands and looked her directly into her eyes, "I love you both_ so _much."_

 _Hermione couldn't control the flood of tears that cascaded down her face. "We love you too," her voice was raspy and cracked uncontrollably. "You better come back," she had whispered to his retreating form._

 _Hermione had reluctantly kept her promise to Ron and had not joined the others in the last push to victory against Voldemort. She had taken refuge in a cave in the mountains that had been the Death Eaters headquarters; which Hermione had cleared out without any assistance._

 _She moved to the rear of the cave and assembled herself a small cot out of discarded robes and a blanket that she had stored in her ever extending purse. Hermione settled herself into her small nest and began twirling the still foreign ring on her left hand. It was a thin, intricately woven band, with a bright blue sapphire set into the pattern. Ron had mumbled something about Hermione needing something more unique and personal than just a diamond._

 _Ron had purposed a week before the final battle had commenced. It had not been very romantic, but it was very Ron. Hermione still smiled in spite of herself when she thought about him nervously ringing his hands as he finally articulated how much Hermione meant to him, and how much he couldn't stand the idea of being without her. Hermione chuckled as she remembered that she didn't even answer if she would marry him or not at first; she had simply thrown herself into Ron's arms and kissed him soundly._

 _Ron and Hermione had spent the remaining days leading up to the final battle together in their own little piece of the world. And the day right before they all had to leave for the final stand against Voldemort, Hermione had discovered that she was pregnant. When she had finally strung the words together to inform Ron, he was more than a little shocked. But as the shock wore off, the grin on Ronald's face grew. He had grabbed a camera and begun taking dozens of pictures of her, "I want to remember everything about this day. Please smile, 'Mione?"_

* * *

The memories faded away as she examined the pictures on the floor.

These were the three pictures that Hermione cherished above all the others. The first was of Hermione beaming at the camera with Ron coming into the picture occasionally to kiss her on the cheek and smile at the camera. The second was of Hermione giggling uncontrollably because Ron had taken the picture as he tripped over a doorway. The last picture was of both Hermione and Ron; he was standing behind Hermione and holding her to his chest in a protective way, like he would never let her go.

As Hermione picked up this particular picture, a few tears came spilling from her eyes but her smile remained. She gently patted her abdomen as she addressed her stomach, "Your daddy loved us so much, he didn't want to let _either_ of us go."

Hermione was now a little more the five months pregnant; her protruding stomach appeared to be expanding every day. But Ron wasn't there anymore to hold her or share in this new adventure.

Ron had been killed at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Ron had sacrificed himself for Harry. He had leapt in front of The Chosen One as Voldemort had tried to throw the killing curse at Harry's back. Harry watched in disbelief as Ron fell to the ground dead. The anguish and fury that built up inside of the Boy-who-lived at seeing his best mate tumble to the ground like a rag-doll, had been the defining moment in the battle. Harry turned to face Voldemort with vengeful rage pumping through his veins. Harry thought of every loved one that had died because of the Dark Lord and a strange composure had seeped through his body.

When Harry spoke he could feel those he had lost standing directly beside him, lending him the power to finally destroy the distorted, evil man before him.

"AVADA KEDAVRA."

Voldemort collapsed to the ground.

That was the one and old time that Harry ever said those words. It pained him to take a life, but he knew that it was a necessary sacrifice for the safety of their world. Harry was forever known as the Boy who killed He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named.

Hermione peered around the room one last time; it felt so empty without Ron. She wiped her face of the tears that had fallen and she collected her things from the floor. Hermione looped the ring back onto the chain that she now wore around her neck. She silently said goodbye to the room before forcing herself to exit.

As Hermione was descending the stairs, she froze in the middle of the hallway. She put her hand on her stomach and felt a little foot extend into her palm.

"You better be nice to my belly dear, or I will have tattle to Uncle Harry on you."

Hermione beamed a genuine smile as she continued down to the kitchen.

* * *

 _A bit short I know, but I promise that I'm working on it. I am trying to update at least once every week, so this story will definitely be continuing._

 _Please let me know what you think!_

 _Follow, Favorite and Review!_

 _Love,_

 _Misha_


	2. Life Now

_Hello all, Happy Friday! Happy Birthday Harry Potter! Read and Review some fanfic to celebrate!  
_

 _Hope you all are enjoying this story and excited about the next chapter._

 _Huge thank yous to: Sunshine72, Jaz and Guest for spending a little extra time to give me some encouraging words. Sorry if the flashback/memories were a bit confusing, I'll make sure to separate them better if anything else comes up in the story._

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Ch2- Life Now

Hermione silently wondered into the kitchen to find most of the occupants of the house already seated and eating breakfast. Molly had prepared a mountain of eggs, sausage and toast already and was currently supervising a few knives that she had charmed to chop up some fruit.

Charlie, Percy, and Harry all sat around one side of the lengthy table with Arthur seated at the head with his heavily braced leg propped up in an adjacent chair. They were all animatedly debating over a recent quiddtich game that Hermione hadn't been paying attention to; but she was glad for the distraction.

Hermione took a seat beside Harry; he wrapped an arm around her thin shoulders without even glancing at her.

This was their way. Harry and Hermione were family, like siblings; despite what Rita Skeeter enjoyed dribbling on about when she mentioned the 'Boy-who-lived' and the 'ambitious muggle-born.'

Molly sat down across from Hermione and offered her a bowl of freshly washed and cut apples, "I'm glad you were comfortable staying here last night, we've miss you dear."

Hermione accepted the fruit happily and bit off a chunk of the crisp fruit. "Well, thank you for the invitation for dinner yesterday." Her eyes met Mrs. Weasley's sad expression, "And I'm sorry for keeping my distance at times. Work has been hectic, especially with the baby. And sometimes being here is just… too much."

Molly grasped Hermione's hands tightly in her own and nodded her head in understanding, "I know dear. It's been difficult for you the most I'm sure; but we all miss him. We're here for you, however we can help."

"Thank you, Molly."

* * *

As breakfast came to a close; Charlie and Percy left for work. They were assisting the new Minister, Kingsley Shacklebolt, with cleaning up the ministry and reestablishing it into a better regime for the Wizarding World of England. Arthur hobbled into the sitting room with a little assistance from Molly; leaving Harry and Hermione alone in the cozy kitchen.

Harry turned his attention to his best friend, "Would you like to take a walk before you have to get to St. Mungo's for your shift?" Hermione nodded her head and accepted Harry's offered elbow.

They exited the Burrow and wondered around the edge of the vast acreage that belonged to the Weasley's.

"I've always loved this place," Hermione whispered.

Harry grinned, "Yeah, always felt like home; even the first time I visited. Mrs. Weasley always made sure we always felt welcome."

Hermione hung her head, "I've stayed away too long. Mrs. Weasley looked so hurt when she was speaking to me last night and this morning."

"She's sad because she lost her youngest son, 'Mione. Everyone is still trying to cope with that," Harry gingerly shook Hermione's hand. "I think she's a little upset that she lost you as a daughter-in-law too." Harry spared a side smirk as he tried to make Hermione laugh.

Hermione snorted, "Oh, she'll have plenty of daughter-in-laws eventually. And anyway, it's not like I would abandon my baby's family." She patted her extended abdomen, "This little one is going to be the first grandchild on _both_ sides. I can't take away that honor from _anyone_."

Harry stole a side glance at Hermione. "How have you been?"

Harry had accompanied Hermione to Australia to find her parents and return their memories to them. It had been a difficult journey and when they had returned to England, Hermione had engrossed herself in studying for her N.E.W.T.s. She had taken them over the summer, and her scores had been so outstanding that she had been accepted into the healer program at St. Mungo's just last month. Harry made sure to visit Hermione often, but he felt helpless in consoling her over Ron's death; he knew that Hermione's focus on studying and work was her way of dealing with the crushing grief so he had simply supported her decision and brought her food whenever she had a long day; which was often.

Hermione smiled and held tightly to Harry's hand. "I'm getting much better. I promise. Mum and Dad and the Weasley's are all being very supportive, but I'm just a bit terrified about the baby coming in only four more months. I feel like I've done _nothing_ to prepare. And I'm still currently living with my parents."

Harry laughed very loudly at Hermione's last comment.

"Well, I have never heard of you not being prepared for anything in your life. You still have _four whole_ _months_ left; that's plenty of time. As for the living arrangements; you have a decent job Hermione, why don't you get your own place?"

"You might find this surprising; but I don't want to live alone, Harry."

Harry dropped his gaze and mentally berated himself. He should have known that this was her train of thought; that was one of the reasons that he spent so much time with the Weasley's, after all. Who would want to live alone after your fiancée had died and left you with a baby?

They walked in silence for a short while. Hermione was reveling in the fresh air as Harry was trying to redeem himself after his thoughtless comment.

"How's my godchild doing in there?" Harry said while eyeing Hermione's slightly bulging baby bump.

"He or she is doing very well. I told it to not kick so hard or I would have to tattle to Uncle Harry."

Hermione smiled as she felt the baby kick lightly again.

Harry gave a heartfelt chuckle, "Yes, jellybean. Listen to your mother. If she cannot handle you I will be forced to take action myself."

By this time they had walked a full circle around the Burrow. They both felt slightly more at peace and they each tried to hold onto that feeling as they walked back up into the house.

"Hermione, you know that if you need anything at all you can count on Ginny and me. _Please_ , tell us if you need anything."

Hermione smiled, "I promise I will take you up on that. The nurses at St. Mungo's have also given poor Healer Granger that speech as well. So, we both will be very well taken care of."

* * *

Fred and George had been setting up Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes everywhere. They had at least one store on every continent. They even had a small store placed in Antarctica. Though muggles had decided that the frigid place was unfit to live on, due to the living conditions and dangerous weather; the one magical community there thoroughly enjoyed it. They did not have to worry about muggles stumbling upon them performing magic and the like.

George had popped the question to Angelina last time the twins had been in England. They hadn't been able to set a wedding date yet due to the traveling required for setting up the new shops; but George was hopeful that they would be married by the end of next summer at the latest.

Fred, in his words, was "minus a ball and chain." He pestered George terribly for committing to someone so quickly. Fred liked Angelina very much, but he was a little afraid that his twin was rushing into marriage. They had only begun dating right before the Battle of Hogwarts, and Fred was afraid it was a relationship born out of the traumatic event.

The twins were packing up their things to finally return home again. They had been in China for the past three weeks making sure that the three new shops there were in perfect working order.

"So have you and Angie found a place yet?" Fred would never admit it out loud, but he was upset about losing his twin as a roommate.

"No, but she's found a few prospects that we're going to look into this weekend. Should be exciting," George answered a bit absentmindedly. George had purchased quite a few souvenirs for Angelina and was having trouble finding safe places to pack all of them.

Fred finished packing first. He threw his two small bags onto the floor and fell backwards onto the bed that was to the left of the rather large room.

Fred shut his eyes to supposedly rest, "You really think you're going to survive without me for a roommate? You could both stay at the apartment until you're married you know."

George tried to suppress his chuckle, "I'm going to miss you too Freddie, but it's not like I'm moving very far. Or that we won't see each other _everyday_ at work..."

Fred shrugged his shoulders trying to act as if he didn't understand George's comment.

George shook his head grinning, "You aren't going to want us at the apartment anyway. We plan to shag a lot, so that would not bode well for your beauty sleep."

"That hurts Georgie. You know I can sleep through anything, so that's not a good excuse at all." Fred sat up and faced his twin, "In all seriousness though; I will miss you."

"I'll miss you to Fred, but you should have had some idea that this was coming. Angie and I have been engaged for three month now; this was the next logical step, almost normal in fact," George clapped his brother on the shoulder.

"Since when are you and I logical or normal?" Fred's pouting face looked ridiculous.

George laughed hysterically at his twin's distraught expression, "Oh stop wallowing you idiot, and let's get going. I want to get back to England."

Fred and George collected all their bags and stood together like they always did when traveling long distances. They glanced at each other before disappeared with a loud 'crack.'

* * *

 _Alrighty folks, what do you think?_ _Can't wait to show you all where this story is going._

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 _And if you like my writing, check out my other story 'Thrown Back'!_

 _Love,_

 _Misha_


	3. Small Steps Forward

_Woohoo! Thank you all so much for the follows, and the reviews!_

 _Hope you enjoy!_

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Ch3- Small steps forward

Hermione had fallen asleep on the couch reading 'Hogwarts, a History' out loud to the baby the night before. She woke up and found herself wrapped in a blanket that she was certain had been placed there by Mrs. Weasley as she slept. Hermione had stayed at the Burrow every few days to make sure the Weasley family felt involved with her pregnancy as well.

Her stomach groaned loudly.

"All right, all right; I'm going."

Hermione trudged to the kitchen and went to the fridge to get some milk so she could take her prenatal potions. She glanced at the clock to find that she was awake far too early to accomplish anything for work. It was 6 o'clock on a Monday morning and she was scheduled to work the 1pm to 7pm shift at St. Mungo's. The hospital had told her that they would only allow her to continue working if she submitted to a checkup every week to ensure that she was not harming herself or the baby. Hermione of course thought this was ridiculous. Her mother had informed Hermione that she kept working until the day before Hermione was born.

Even though she was still only an intern, Hermione loved being a Healer at St. Mungo's. After all the pain and death she had witnessed during the war, she wanted to contribute something good to the world. And it was such an incredible rush for Hermione when she found a way to help one of her patients.

But breakfast was a different story.

Hermione had still not learned the layout of Mrs. Weasley kitchen; it seemed to be constantly changing. So to ease her hunger pains, Hermione settled for simply accio'ing the cereal box she found at the back of the pantry, took the never spoil spell off of it and happily ate away.

Hermione started going through one of the baby magazines that Ginny had ordered for her. There were so many things required when expecting a baby these days. She needed a crib, highchair, changing table, stroller, diaper bag, diapers, formula, bouncer and so many other things that she had never even heard of... the list felt never-ending.

Putting the magazine down, Hermione found a quill and started circling things that she liked with one hand and she munched on the small cereal pieces with the other.

About half an hour later, Mrs. Weasley woke to find Hermione seated at the kitchen table; she was still eating and circling away.

"Good morning, dear. How did you sleep?"

"Very well, Molly. Thank you for the blanket."

"Don't even think on it, Hermione. I just wish you would decide on which bedroom I could make into a guest room for you. Bill's old room would be perfect; it's quite big and has its own fireplace too. I could set up a nice sized bed for you and a crib for the baby and anything else you would like."

Hermione was not sure what to say. "Thank you Molly; I don't want to impose though."

"Nonsense; this is your home just as much as your parents' house is." Mrs. Weasley gently squeezed Hermione's shoulder, "I want you and my little grandchild to always be comfortable here."

Hermione spared a small smile, "I can't tell you how much that means to me Molly." She set the quill back down on the table and entwined her fingers over her little bump, "I want everyone to be involved in the baby's life, but I do think I need a place of my own soon. Somewhere I can call home for both of us."

"Of course, I understand." Molly pulled the Daily Prophet from the windowsill where the owl had dropped it and handed Hermione the apartment section, "Do you know if you'd rather a place in a magical or muggle area?"

"Oh… I'm not sure," Hermione had not thoroughly thought about where she wanted to live, she just knew that she needed a space of her own away from all parental figures. She had briefly thought of living at Grimmauld Place with Harry, he was in the process of gutting the house and having it completely refinished; but Hermione still was uncomfortable with the eerie feeling the house exuded. "Either way, it would have to be in London so that I can commute to St. Mungo's without too much trouble. Maybe somewhere in Diagon Alley?"

Mrs. Weasley took a seat next to Hermione and skimmed over the listings located in London, "They don't seem to have much… but there are a few that you could look at. Would you like me to come with you? Maybe your mother and I can both go and help you find a place."

Hermione had to actively keep her mouth from frowning; her mother and Mrs. Weasley weren't exactly informed on real estate and they both had a compulsion to express their opinions on almost everything... whether it was necessary or not. "Actually I was thinking of asking Fred or George to come with me; they know the area much better than any of us. And they would know if the prices were outrageous."

Hermione noticed that Mrs. Weasley looked a little deflated at her mention of the twins; but Hermione knew that her argument was sound.

"Well, I will owl Fred then and ask him to come by for dinner. George and Angelina are searching for their own place, so I don't think they would have any spare time." Mrs. Weasley quickly composed herself; Hermione was most likely correct after all, "But Fred… he needs to spend more time with his family, so I'm _sure_ he can help you."

Hermione chuckled at Mrs. Weasley's determined expression, "I'm sure he'll help without being blackmailed or anything."

Mrs. Weasley walked away to find a piece of parchment, "…you never know with the twins…"

* * *

SLAM.

The noise startled Fred from his slumber. He jerked his head up and glanced around his room; his wand was tightly grasped in his left hand, a habit he had unfortunately picked up during the war. Fred stood and rubbed the sleep from his eyes and gingerly extended his fingers from his clenched fist.

SLAM.

"Stupid twin…" Fred grumbled as he pulled his own door open and went to confront his brother on his roommate etiquette. Door slamming had never been an issue before, so it hadn't been previously addressed. Fred walked out of his room and wandered straight into George's room without any notice.

He was assaulted with a sight he contemplated 'Obliviating' from his memory immediately.

There was George and Angelina on the bed doing things that engaged couples are entitled to do. But to Fred, it was his twin brother and one of his best mates. He turned on his heal and closed the door as quickly, but as quietly, as possible.

George and Angie didn't even notice.

"Well… at least I won't miss that when Georgie moves out…" Fred quickly found a semi clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt; he grabbed a light jacket from the coat closet and hurriedly abandoned his apartment before he witnessed anything else.

Fred descended the stairs into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes and checked in with Flora and Kalvin, who had been minding the Diagon Alley storefront while the twins had been traveling.

"Morning you two; ready to open?"

Flora rolled her eyes as she straightened a display of Daydream Charms. "Of course we're ready, Mr. Weasley. We've been running the store for a good while now; and without any incidents I might add."

"As long as you don't count dropping a full box of that instant dark powder that came in last week," Kalvin nudged Flora playfully as she her cheeks became a bright pink.

"It's alright, Flo. Happens to the best of us." Fred flipped the 'Open' sign around on the door right before he exited, "I'm off to enjoy my last day off before I have to come back and actually be your boss. Behave yourselves and… don't go upstairs…"

* * *

Fred decided to escape to the burrow and visit with the family for a short time before he decided what to do with the rest of his day. He arrived at the Burrow just as Hermione was coming to the bottom of the stairs. It was only about seven-thirty in the morning, but she looked very awake.

Hermione broke into a wide grin, "Well, look at you." She walked over to Fred and gave him as big of a hug as she could manage.

"Hey Hermione; you look brilliant! How have you been?" He looked her over. She finally looked pregnant now; Hermione hadn't been showing much when he and George left for their Asian tour. The past five months had changed her quite a bit. She had that 'glow' that his mother jabbered on about pregnant women getting; but she did appear a bit skinnier somehow, even with her stomach finally showing. Her wavy brown hair was pulled back so you could see her entire face. Fred noticed a little crescent shaped scar above her left eye and he knew was from the elder Malfoy. He had not seen her in two solid months because of all the traveling, but they had sent an owl occasionally to keep in touch.

"I haven't heard from you since India. Where did you just come back from?"

"China. It was actually really fun. The people there thought our jokes were amazing. It was like they've never had a bit of fun in their lives." Fred laughed.

Hermione returned his chuckle easily. She had missed Fred and George so much. They were always good at making her feel better no matter how emotional she became. She looked at Fred and noticed that he was a bit more tan than usual, and his ginger hair was a little longer. He had a few battle scars from the war that peeked out from the edges of his clothing, but he usually kept them covered up to not draw attention to them. But despite the marks and slightly older eyes; he still projected the confidant, humorous air of the Fred that Hermione had grown quite fond of.

They walked into the kitchen as Hermione inquired about how the new shops were doing. Fred answered happily; the expansions were more successful than ever. Money was rolling in, but most of the current profits were going toward opening and stocking the new establishments in their development plans.

"Did you get your mother's owl this morning?" Hermione asked a bit embarrassed.

Fred noticed the color rise in her cheeks, "Oh Merlin.. What did mum do this time?"

Hermione picked at the fruit bowl that sat between them, "Nothing terrible. I just mentioned that I was thinking about asking you or George to help me find an apartment in Diagon Alley and she might have decided, on her own mind you… that you needed to be blackmailed into doing so." She burst out laughing, "Sorry."

Fred shook his head and smirked, "Well, I'd probably say no if she asked me. But why don't you try asking and we'll see what happens."

"Fred, would you mind terribly helping me find an apartment, a nearby tube station and all these crazy baby things that I apparently need?" Hermione's smile faltered a bit as she listed out all the things that seemed very necessary all of a sudden.

"Well, I can certainly assist with the apartment today, but I'm not sure about the rest of your list. I'm sure I can manage something if you give me some time though," Fred casually winked at Hermione hoping that he was wrong about the anxiety in her eyes.

* * *

They found absolutely nothing.

All the apartments that they had seen in the past three hours were, 'completely disgusting,' according to Hermione. One was too small, one was too dirty, one was in the wrong area of town, according to Fred, and the last one they had just seen was perfect except for the witch that lived next door.

Fred and Hermione were exhausted and it wasn't even noon yet.

While they walked to the Leaky Cauldron for a quick lunch before Hermione had to report to work, Fred and Hermione debated about the apartments. "But that last one was pretty nice 'Mione. I'm sure you'd survive having a bad neighbor."

"But she was so loud. And all the questions about me and the 'Golden Trio,' oh it was ridiculous. I don't want the baby exposed to all of that," Hermione was a bit distraught about some of the uncomfortable questions that the woman had asked about the baby and Ron.

"Well we can always try looking again in a few days," Fred suggested, trying to elevate his voice and sound positive for the witch next to him.

"I know, I just don't know how much longer I can handle shuffling between my parents' house and the Burrow…" Hermione cast her eyes down to the ground as Fred opened the wall into the pub.

Fred wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze, "It will be fine. You're the brightest witch I know; you'll figure it out, _especially_ if I help you."

"Yea, alright…" but Hermione did not sound very hopeful.

Fred pulled out Hermione's chair when they found a table at the Leaky Cauldron, and he tried to draw her into conversation that didn't involve apartments or babies. By the time they received their food, Hermione appeared a bit more relaxed and cheerful. Fred was a bit proud of himself for being able to bring Hermione out of her stupor.

As Hermione stood up and collected her things so that she wouldn't be late for St. Mungo's. Fred asked, "Will you be at the Burrow for dinner tonight? Mum's insisting on making a big welcome home thing for George and I."

"Sounds perfect; I'll see you there." Hermione leaned over and pecked Fred on the cheek, "And thank you for coming with me today." She walked out of the pub, and glanced back with a small wave before she disappeared into the crowed London street.

Fred sat back and finished his butterbeer. He didn't seem to notice the small smile that pulled at the corner of his lips.

* * *

 _Soooooo... Sorry this may be feeling a bit slow, but I like building my characters a bit instead of just pushing them onto one another. Hope you all can understand and still enjoy!_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and REVIEW! All types of reviews welcome._

 _Love, Misha_


	4. Homecoming Dinner

_Hello there! Hope everyone is doing well and in enjoying their weekend. There is chapter four for you._

 _Hope you all enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!_

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Chapter 4 – Homecoming Dinner

Hermione stood outside the Burrow and stared at the door. She could hear the inhabitance bustling around, chatting and laughing; bringing life to the old house.

Hermione found herself nervous about being around so many people. It was idiotic, she _knew_ that. She just wasn't excited by the idea of entering a house filled with people who would treat her as a breakable object. Hermione had worked so diligently over the past month to make peace with her lose and make sure others didn't treat her with pity anymore.

 _Ron… Ron will always be a significant part of my life, but he would never want me to stop living._

After taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, Hermione knocked and entered the house.

Hermione was greeted by a resounding chorus of "Granger!" as soon as she stepped over the threshold.

Charlie, Bill and Percy were standing around the entry way discussing recent changes in Ministry policy when Hermione arrived. They each hugged her gently and politely commented on her now notable baby bump. Hermione noticed that no one asked how she was, which was strange but somewhat appreciated.

"Have you found out if it's a boy or girl yet?" Bill asked as he took Hermione's light jacket and hung it up on the rack for her.

"No, not yet. I think next checkup is when I'll find out. Don't worry; I'll make sure everyone knows when I do." Hermione forced a chuckle. She hadn't wanted to find out the sex yet; but that was an issue that she didn't want to discuss. It would create fissures in the _'I'm completely fine'_ image she was attempting to exude.

She found Fleur and Angelina in the study discussing wedding ideas for George and Angie's wedding. They were speaking very animatedly when Hermione entered the room, but their happy expressions faltered when they saw her.

Hermione placed a beaming smile on her face and trudged forward. She asked Fleur how life at Shell Cottage was and offered congratulations to Angie again on the engagement. Hermione hoped her smile and words were convincing enough. She needed people to think she was fine, so that they would treat her normally again; or Hermione feared she would never feel _normal_ again.

The kitchen held Hermione's favorite people; Molly, Harry and Ginny. Molly had always played the role of overprotective caring mother, so her treatment of Hermione had altered little after Ron had died. Harry, who Hermione felt shared equally in the loss of Ron, attempted to treat Hermione as normally as possible. But she found herself more easily forgiving of Harry; if he walked on egg shells around her, she usually just called him out on the action and they moved on. And Ginny…

"Ginny!?" Hermione was shocked to see her best female friend in the kitchen of the Burrow.

"Hermione! _Finally_ ; Fred mentioned you were coming, but I was beginning to think he was having a go at me," the redhead embraced Hermione in a semi-tight hug.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Hogwarts?"

Ginny smiled slyly over at Harry, "Well, I may have had some _assistance_ getting here. And I'll probably have to leave early to make sure no one misses me… but it's worth it to see everyone. Especially you."

Hermione and Ginny had become almost inseparable over the summer. If Ginny wasn't with Harry; she was with Hermione. Ginny and Harry had both acted as Hermione's confidants and support system while morning Ron's death, and Hermione was certain that she wouldn't have survived without either of them.

The two girls happy gossiped as Molly had Harry help her collect the rolls from the oven.

Harry presented them with the basket, "Chat during dinner; go make yourself useful Hermione." He pointed to the back yard and shooed her out of the kitchen. Hermione grinned and shook her head at the messy haired boy.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione tilted her head toward Ginny, who was now helping Molly tend to the rest of the food preparation, and kissed him lightly on the cheek before venturing out into the garden.

* * *

 _Bang_!

"Oi! That was a cheap shot Freddie. We said no spinning." George hollered over his twin's fit of laughter.

"There are no _rules_ in chair jousting!" Fred's voice bellowed like a warrior's cry.

Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table skimming over the Daily Prophet. "Hello, Hermione dear. How are you and the baby this evening?" He spoke without even making eye contact.

Arthur Weasley was still a bit of a mystery to Hermione. He was a kind and caring man, who fiercely protected his family, but it appeared to almost pain him to look upon Hermione. She tried not to appear uneasy, "We're very well, thank you, Arthur. And yourself?"

Their conversations were always courteous and vague; Harry had said that he thought Mr. Weasley might have been more affected my Ron's death than anyone else. Hermione was afraid it might have had something to do with the fact that he had barely had time to properly morn for his youngest son before the Ministry had called him back to work.

"Oh, I'm fine. I was just trying to convince Fred and George that they should stop _playing_ before Molly finds them out, but I think I am fighting a losing battle." Mr. Weasley glanced at Hermione and offered her a rare smile, "Would you like to try? I seem to recall you having a way with mischievous males." There was a brief flicker of happiness behind Arthur's eyes before the sadness seeped back and his gaze returned to the newspaper.

Hermione attempted a smile, "Yes, I suppose I could try."

" _Playing_? He called this playing, Georgie!" Fred wore a look of pure disgust as he flicked his wand to maneuver his chair to bolster his twin's chair forcefully upward.

George quickly countered by having his chair perform a swan dive directly on top of Fred's chair.

Hermione bit back a giggle, "I realize that this gathering is supposed to be a celebration for you two havoc reaping men, but I really don't think your mother is going to appreciate her chairs being broken while being used as implements of an inanimate object war."

"Havoc reaping? I think that's worse than the 'playing' comment…" George huffed.

Fred peeked at Hermione through his peripheral and grinned wickedly, "Well did you know that I'm a wizard Hermione? I could always just put the chair back together and Mum would never be the wiser…"

"Be the wiser for what, dear?" Mrs. Weasley's voice chimed as she carried out a big bowl of mashed potatoes to the long table.

George and Fred hurriedly dropped their chairs back into place at the table; Molly glared at them through narrowed eyes.

The twins immediately encircled Hermione in a group hug in an attempt to deflect their mother's rage.

"Hermione! You look enchanting tonight!"

"Very lovely; and how is our niece or nephew?"

Hermione couldn't suppress her laughter any longer, and it was quiet a welcomed feeling. She marveled at how Fred and George were so easily able to make her cheerful. Hermione secretly wished that they could be around her at all times to maybe repel uncomfortable conversations with others.

* * *

The rest of the night was filled with delicious food, ample drink and fits of painful laughter. Hermione found herself seated between Ginny and Fred, toward the middle of the two tables. She and Ginny spoke easily about Hermione's discomfort about finding a new apartment and her reservations on the possibility of a roommate. Ginny would have suggested herself as a candidate for roommate, but with several months still left at Hogwarts, it seemed like an unlikely situation.

After everyone was pleasantly stuffed and the dishes were waved away from the table, Fred and George brought out a special bottle of plum wine that they were gifted in China and portioned the amber liquid out to each family member; Hermione happily accepted some green tea from Molly.

"To our amazing family, who has put up with our shenanigans for many, _many_ years," George raised his glass and glanced around the table.

"To Harry Potter, for the startup money for our little venture," Fred smirked as every eye turned to the black haired boy. Harry ducked his head down slightly as he raised his glass and turned a slight shade of pink and green.

"To The Boy-Who-Lived for ridding us of Vol… Voldemort so we could have this shop and this life," George offered his glass to Harry again with a more serious smile in place.

The rest of the table's occupants followed suit; Ginny leaned over and kissed Harry on the cheek.

Harry wasn't comfortable in the spotlight, even around people who were as close to family as the Weasley's were. But he also felt unworthy of all the praise when so many others had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hopes of defeating The Dark Lord, "To those who have fallen; the real heroes of the war." Harry offered this toast with a slight crack in his voice.

The people around the table agreed wholeheartedly and raised their glasses again. Names were murmured and exchanged as people were remembered for their bravery and their lose.

Ginny grasped Hermione's hand and stood up from the table. She held her glass out with a tight smile on her lips, "And to Ron; the bravest of us _all_."

Every voice fell silent.

 _Eggshells_ … Hermione thought to herself. She heaved herself up from her chair with a little difficulty; Fred stood and took her arm to steady her and remained standing beside the two witches. He also held out his glass with a solemn face.

Hermione straightened her arm out, offering her tea cup to the final toast, "To Ronald. Who will forever be thought of fondly and greatly missed." Hermione felt a genuine smile spread over her face as she spoke.

There was a moment of pause before Fred and George quickly echoed her sentiments, "To Ron!"

Hermione squeezed Ginny's hand to reassure the redhead, "That was perfect Gin, thank you."

Hermione threw back the rest of her tea, imagining it was a bit of liquid courage, "I think I need to walk around for a bit though." She excused herself and began to make her familiar track around the perimeter of the property.

* * *

A few minutes later, Hermione heard jogging footsteps close in from behind her. She tightened the hold on her wand out of sheer habit, even though she was sure it was someone from the party.

"Mind if I join you?" Fred asked as he caught himself from stumbling forward and fell into step beside Hermione. "I think I need to walk off that wine. A bit too sickly sweet for me, and stronger than I imagined." He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and offered Hermione his left elbow.

"Well I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be if you're expecting me to stabilize you. I'm a bit wobbly on my own now," Hermione chuckled as she took Fred's offered arm and continued to walk along the garden.

"I actually wanted to ask you about something Harry mentioned," Fred looked at Hermione with his usual cheery face. "Why didn't you tell me you were looking for a roommate?"

Hermione's eyebrows knit together in mock confusion, "I'm looking for a roommate?"

Fred couldn't help laughing at her facial expression, "Harry mentioned that you weren't sure you wanted to live alone. You see, I was under the impression that you were just looking for an apartment for you and that little baby of yours. I didn't realize you wanted a friend to live with as well."

"I'm sorry I didn't mention it," Hermione dropped her feigned confusion and smiled sheepishly. "I thought maybe it was childish of me to be afraid to live by myself."

"Oh, it might be…" Fred offered in a serious tone, "But I don't like the prospect of living alone either." Fred's face darkened slightly as he thought back to the war. When he, George and Lee had been hiding out while broadcasting 'Potterwatch,' Fred had always been uneasy when it was his turn to watch camp and was left alone while the others were out for a supply run or scouting mission. It was a bit childish, he knew that; but it didn't make the discomfort of being alone disperse any.

" _Very_ reassuring, Fred," Hermione managed to force a laugh at the sentiment.

"Well, I do have a solution… for the both of us," Fred's expression softened and a smile graced his face again. Hermione noted that she thought Fred was much more handsome with the grin in place.

"Do, tell Mr. Weasley." Hermione pulled gently on his arm as they rounded a big aspen tree.

"Would you like to move in with me? I'm going to need a new roommate in a few days when Georgie moves out. And it would be nice to see a familiar face in the morning instead of some stranger I pick up off the side of Diagon Alley," Fred's eyes sparkled as he joked.

"You're… You'd really be alright living with a hormonal pregnant girl?" Hermione was skeptical, "I've been very moody lately and don't usually sleep very well."

"Well, I'm perfectly comfortable with all that as long as you're fine with me and my occasional crazy antics." Fred stopped their progress around the yard and faced Hermione, "Though I do promise not to put you and the baby in any actual danger due to my pranks."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, Hermione; I'm sure." Fred offered her his out stretched hand, "What do you say roomy?"

Hermione tentatively took his outstretched hand, "I… I guess we're roommates."

They shook hands happily in agreement.

* * *

 _Eek! Can't wait to show you all where this is going. Hope to see everyone next chapter._

 _Please, please, PLEASE Favorite, Follow and REVIEW!_

 _Love,_

 _Misha_


	5. Settling In

_Alrighty then..._

 _So, completely overjoyed and appreciative for the follower and favorite-ers for my little story here. But it is slightly discouraging to only have three reviews... and no reviews since the very first chapter. =(_

 _Oh man, you all have no idea how motivating and brightening it is when a review alert pops up on my email account. Pretty Please with Sugar on Top?_

* * *

Ch5- Settling In

Hermione sat on the carpeted floor of George's old room, sorting through a box full of clothes that didn't quite fit her at the moment.

"Well dear, I think it looks splendid so far," Mrs. Granger had come to help her daughter organize things while Mr. Granger covered the dental practice.

"Thanks, Mum," Hermione offered a grateful smile to her mother.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Mrs. Granger left the room and returned with a large TopShop shopping bag.

"Mum... I asked you not to worry about it." Hermione attempted to make a disgruntled face, but as she pulled out some of the new maternity clothes it became difficult to be angry with her mother.

Mrs. Granger waved off Hermione's concerned words, "Nonsense. I can't have my daughter walking around completely uncomfortable because she refuses to buy maternity clothes."

Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically, "I wasn't refusing to buy maternity clothes, I was just too busy with work to get out to the shops last weekend." She laughed in spite of her mother's insinuation.

"Well, do you like them? The lovely lady at the store said you could exchange anything you don't like or doesn't fit you." Mrs. Granger took a seat on the floor next to her only child and placed a warm hand over Hermione's stomach.

"They're perfect Mum. I'll try them on later though to make sure," Hermione placed the bag to the side and glanced around the room, _her_ room. Her mother kissed Hermione's temple and went out to the kitchen to search for some tea.

The room was a very spacious, square shaped room. There was a fluffy queen size bed pushed up against one wall; it was arranged lengthwise against the wall like a daybed to conserve space. A brand new white crib stood on the opposite wall, completely bare, like a blank canvas waiting to be turned into some kind of art piece. Hermione wanted to know the gender of the baby before she purchased anything to decorate. Those were things that she was _actually_ refusing to buy currently.

* * *

 _"We need a crib. A beautiful crib for the perfect baby we're going to have soon."_

 _"Ron, you've gone mad! The baby's not due for another 9 months. There is plenty of time for all of this later. And we're preparing for war!"_

 _Ron smiled. "Well, I just want everything to be ready. I want our little girl to feel safe."_

 _"Oh really? And how do you know that it is going to be a girl?"_

 _"I just have a good feeling about it. It's going to be a girl. I know it…"_

* * *

The memory faded away as quickly as it had appeared in her mind. Hermione was left sitting alone in an empty room, wiping the small tears away from her cheeks.

"Hermione? Are you alright?"

Hermione turned around to find Fred, dressed in his outrageously bright orange work blazer, leaned up against the door frame of the room. She quickly placed a strained smile on her face in an attempt to hide the sadness.

"I'm fine Fred. Just… just getting lost in some thoughts."

Fred knew she must have been thinking about Ron. It had been about five months since the end of the war, and he thought Hermione was handling everything very well even in spite of the circumstances. Hermione had remained very strong throughout everything. She seemed to only cry when she was in the presence of trusted friends. And she had even helped Mr. Weasley during his brief morning period for his youngest son.

"Well, what were you thinking about?" Fred pushed himself off the door frame and plopped himself down on the floor next to Hermione.

Hermione took a deep breathe. She knew that her secret was catching up to her; family and friends had been inquiring recently and the questions were more frequent now. Hermione knew that she wouldn't be able to do this by herself… But maybe Fred could help her get through this. Fred had always been a good friend. He treated her in a respective manner with a flare of comedic relief. Maybe a bit of comedy was what Hermione needed to get through this silly issue she had built up in her head.

"He said it was going to be a girl."

Fred looked a little confused. Hermione laughed lightly and continued her explanation.

"Ron insisted that the baby was going to be a girl. He said he had a _feeling_ about it." Hermione laughed as she remembered the ridiculous debate that she and Ron had about the gender of the baby. "He actually argued with me about it. He was so fixated on the idea of the baby being a girl we actually fought about it."

Fred chuckled a little, "Does sound a bit like Ron."

Hermione's brain heard Fred's laughter in a delayed loop. But as her mind processed that he was laughing, she began to laugh too.

"It was like him to do that, wasn't it? He was being _completely_ unreasonable about it… Oh, he got so red in the face. It was _so_ funny." Hermione began to replay the scene in her head and her giggling increased.

Fred began chuckling more openly as well, enjoying the shared moment with Hermione and the sound of her laughter.

"Well, the most ridiculous part of this is me actually. I… I've been too terrified… I haven't found out what the gender of the baby actually is yet."

"Why is that ridiculous?"

"Because… because I don't want to find out if the baby is _not_ a girl." Hermione's laughter increased tenfold at how ridiculous the sentiment sounded when it was stated out loud. "I want the baby… I want the baby to be a girl so… so Ron will be right."

Hermione glanced over at Fred and found him grinning wickedly at her.

"You've lost it, Granger."

Hermione's laughter halted mid giggle.

Hermione snorted; she covered her mouth with a spare hand in an attempt to dampen the sound.

The sound was so absurd that it caused both her and Fred to begin laughing again. Hermione leaned over and grasped his arm for support so she wouldn't fall over. She relocated the hand that was over her mouth to her forehead and began using Fred's shoulder as a headrest.

"This… this is why I wanted to live with you. You don't treat me like a piece of glass. You don't see me as broken, or think 'Oh, that poor girl' when you see me." Hermione attempted to take some deep breathes to calm herself down. "I need someone to help me get back to _normal_ ; whatever normal is now."

"Merlin, Hermione. If you really think I'm going to help you get back to normal… maybe you do need some professional help," Fred was grinning wildly. He completely understood what Hermione meant.

Hermione lifted her head and mirrored his grin; she slapped him playfully on the arm she was using for stability, "Ha ha, very funny Weasley."

It took a few seconds for the both of them to calm down.

"What did Ron want to name the poor girl?"

Hermione felt a soft smile cross her lips as she tilted her head back down onto Fred's shoulder. "He wanted to name her Elizabeth. I actually think it is a very lovely name."

"Huh, I actually like it. Never thought Ron had very good taste… but then again, he did end up with you," Fred nudged Hermione gently with his captured arm. "Is that the other reason why you don't want to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy?"

Hermione nodded. "I want the baby to be a girl so I can name her what Ron wanted." She chuckled lightly as she placed a hand over her slightly rounded stomach. "I'm honestly afraid I won't know _what_ to do with myself if the baby is a boy."

"You really have lost it," Fred snickered. Hermione did to.

"You are a git; do you know that?" They chuckled together on the floor for a few more minutes until Mrs. Granger came in as asked if anyone else would like some tea.

Hermione lifted her head and turned to face her mother, "Well, may I have some of that ginger tea that Molly suggested for my nausea, please?" She turned to Fred, "Would you like anything?"

Fred gave a small wave to Hermione's mum, "Hello, Mrs. Granger."

Mrs. Granger smiled politely, "Hello, Fred. Would you like to join us for tea?"

"Um, whatever you're having is fine by me," Fred couldn't remember what kind of tea was actually in his kitchen, so he thought whatever could actually be found was probably best. He rubbed his shoulder slightly; the one that Hermione had been using as a cushion. Fred felt a slight pang of sadness at the loss of pressure.

Fred hastily pushed the thought aside, "Well, prove to me that you haven't gone completely mental and let me take you to St. Mungo's. Get tested or whatever… find out what the baby's gender is."

Hermione felt her lips twitch upward at the challenge in Fred's voice. She looked directly into his bright blue eyes and held his gaze with a stubborn smirk, "Fine; I will. We'll go tomorrow after my shift in Magical Bugs and Diseases. I will meet you in the lobby at 5pm."

Fred was surprised at how severe Hermione looked; she was trying to exude an air of confidence but it was coming off a little harsh. Regardless, Fred was still glade he had helped get Hermione to overcome one of her pregnancy fears. He stood up and extended his arm down to Hermione.

"It's a date then, Granger."

This made Hermione release a soft snort of laughter as she shook her head. _How does he keep me laughing so easily?_

"Have I thanked you yet for offering to be my roommate and asking me to move in here?" Hermione took his outstretched hand with both of her own and allowed Fred to hoist her back onto her feet; it seemed to be no strain on him at all.

Fred's smile felt a bit hesitant as he looked down at Hermione; he noticed that their hands were still clasped together between them, "No, you haven't mentioned it today. Go on, have a go at it."

Fred gently slipped his hand out of Hermione's grasp and busied himself with moving one of the boxes labeled 'loo' into the adjoining restroom.

Hermione absentmindedly crossed her arms as she noticed that her hands felt a bit chilled, "Fred, thank you so much for… well, for everything honestly. I'm really happy to be here." As an afterthought Hermione quickly added, "And if you don't like something that I've done, please tell me. I couldn't bear losing our friendship because of something trivial." Hermione offered this with a warm smile.

Fred turned to face the petite brunette; her smile was infectious and he reflected it back to her without even thinking. "I really don't think you could do anything that would annoy me that much. But I'll keep a list if that will make you feel better," he joked trying to deflect whatever the strange pulling feeling around his navel was.

In the back of her mind, Hermione's subconscious was questioning her. _Should I be this happy? Is it alright to be so comfortable around Fred?_ She didn't have much time to ponder the thought before Mrs. Granger called them into the kitchen for tea.

* * *

 _please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!_

 _Any and all reviews welcome._

 _Thank you and see you next chapter!_

 _Love,_

 _Misha_


	6. Wanting to be Right

_Hey There! SO... I cannot thank you all enough for the love! I had quite a few followers added and some FREAKING AMAZING reviewers._

 _Huge, HUGE thank yous to: gracereinhard2014, MissesE, Guest, and JordynMaggie16. You four are such wonderful people. I appreciate you so much! And extra thank yous for understanding that you can't just slap two people together. =)_

 _Here is chapter 6!_

 _ps. Just for everyone's info, 'Begin Again' will be updated every Tuesday._

* * *

Chapter 6 - Wanting to be Right

Hermione finishing paperwork seated on one of the beds, in the on-call room, on the second floor of St. Mungo's. Magical Bugs and Diseases had been one of the most interesting rotations so far during Hermione's training. But with the lengths that she had to undergo to actually be able to interact and treat some of the patients, imagine magical barrier charms that could be compared to hazmat suits; she was relieved to be starting her rotation in Potions and Plant Poisoning next week. The fact that Angelina was going to be one of her immediate supervisors did cause Hermione some hesitation, but she hoped that it would just be an opportunity to get better acquainted with the witch who was soon going to be her baby's aunt.

*Beep beep beep*

The alarm that Hermione had set that morning _finally_ went off. It was time to meet Fred in the lobby.

Hermione smiled slightly to herself as memories from the previous day splashed through her mind. She found herself excited about finding out what gender the baby was, but there was still that heavy weight at the bottom of her stomach. Hermione wandered out to the nurses' station and handed over the paperwork to be processed and filed. She then retreated into the locker room, hung up her healer coat and wrapped her purple wool pea coat over her bright green scrubs. Hermione caught herself humming an old Weird Sister's song and shook her head while she laughed along to the beat.

Just as Hermione was stepping out of the elevator, Fred came through the glass entrance of St. Mungo's. He looked around aimlessly as he searched for Hermione, who was giggling at his slight blindness. Hermione stood perfectly still and waited to see if Fred could spot her among the slight crowd that was taking up the lobby area.

His eyes finally swept over where Hermione had stationed herself and he grinned. She smirked as he weaved around the crowd making his way toward her.

"Well, Mr. Weasley, it seems you might need to get your eyes checked while you're here."

Fred merely shrugged and gave her a one armed hug. "You're just a tad too short to spot in a crowd." He patted her head gently and offered a mocking frown. Hermione's full height was only slightly below Fred's shoulder, but that reality didn't seem to matter at the moment.

Hermione slapped his arm away lightheartedly as Fred finished this sentence. She made a mental note to find a way to get back at the tall ginger later on.

They took the elevator up to the Potions floor. St. Mungo's didn't really have a designated maternity ward, a majority of magical families used midwifes for home births. But the Potions wing made special appointments for expectant mothers wanting to know all the genetic details of their unborn children. There was a special potion that had been invented by Healer Hestia Jones six decades before that, in conjunction with a specific spell, could tell you the gender, physical characteristics and any medical complications that your baby may have when born. It was very much like a magical version of the muggle sonogram.

"So, you're really not going to back out of this?"

Hermione was caught off guard by the comment and felt herself glare at Fred, "No, I really am going to go through with this."

Fred's face fell a little. He had only asked the question out of concern for her. He knew that actually taking this potion and finding out the gender of the baby was a huge step for Hermione. She had mourned, she had begun to finally move on, but this could be too much for her. Fred was honestly a bit worried that it could start to unravel all the progress Hermione had made in moving forward with her life; he wanted to give her an "out" if it was needed.

Unfortunately, Hermione had not seen Fred's facial expression through all of this and so she did not understand that Fred was being sincere with his question. She had been distracted by the nurse at the Potions counter, which was located to the left when they exited the elevator.

The nurse addressed her like an old friend, "Hermione! We've been expecting you. How are you feeling today? We haven't seen you in a month or so; I'm hoping that means that the nausea has finally subsided and the morning sickness stopped after you entered your second trimester."

Hermione smiled in return, "Hello Annie, yes I'm doing much better now. I have been keeping more food down, I promise."

The nurse went back into the office to inform the Healer that Hermione had arrived.

"I didn't realize you were so sick before that you had to come here; I'm so sorry Hermione." Fred looked so distressed over the news that Hermione forgot why she had been so aggravated by him just a few seconds before.

She leaned on the counter for support, "Well, morning sickness is not the best thing in the world, but I managed. Annie and Healer Kellin took very good care of me and made sure they always had a stomach settler available and ready to go if I was on the schedule to work that day."

Fred didn't want to press his luck, but his mouth started talking before he could close it again, "Is that why you look so skinny; why you haven't gained much weight since you've been pregnant?"

Hermione sighed, "Partially, I guess. I think it was a mixture of the morning sickness and the coping with Ron's death."

"Why didn't you tell anyone that?" Fred was relieved that Hermione wasn't upset for asking the personal question, but now he was getting a little frustrated that she hadn't shared this information with the families.

Hermione didn't have a verbal answer; she just shrugged her shoulders.

Fred forced Hermione to face him, "Look, I know you hate when people treat you as if you're excessively fragile; but _this_ is different. You know, I hear it's completely normal to throw up when you're pregnant. I distinctly remember Mum having a great deal of trouble with that when she was pregnant with Ginny." Fred shuffled his feet uncomfortably, trying to find the correct words to use next, "No more secrets. I'm your roommate, and more importantly, I'm your friend. You already know I won't judge you, so please tell me if something is wrong, even if you're not sure if it's serious or not?"

Hermione's forehead wrinkled in concentration as she processed his concerned words, "Alright Fred; no more secrets." She found it extremely difficult to argue with the stern looking Fred. It was so unlike his usual carefree approach to all things that Hermione felt the reflexive need to take him seriously. But she also had the urge to interject humor back into the conversation, "Then you can't make fun of me if I begin to crave strange things now that I can keep food down." Hermione poked Fred very hard in the sternum to prove the gravity of her point, but her grin gave her away.

Fred smiled in relief, "Deal." He quickly added before he lost his nerve, or Hermione's good mood, "About before, I was… I just didn't want you to feel pressured into coming here. I didn't want to be the one who pushed you to do something you're not completely ready for. I was trying to give you a free pass to get out of here; I wasn't doubting your resolve."

"I realize that now," Hermione offered a reassuring smile as they sat down to wait for the nurse to call Hermione into the back office. "I mean… you might have nudged me a little, but I think I needed that final push to get myself moving again."

"Well, as long as we're still friends after all this; I guess we'll be alright," Fred chucked to himself. "I thought I had really made you cross. You got that look you used to give Harry and Ron when they told you about their half thought out plans."

Hermione laughed lightly, "Oh no, really? I was nowhere _near_ that level of anger." She patted his arm gently, "I just can't seem to process things as quickly as I usually can. The nurse, Annie, mentioned something about 'pregnancy brain' and unbalanced hormones last time I spoke to her. Apparently it's very common to forget things and get very upset over small issues; and me being me, I hate the idea of not being able to control that. Which I think might be making it worse…"

"So you hate that you're succumbing to normal pregnancy issues?" Fred asked in a slow careful tone.

"Yes. I'm so glad you understand," Hermione grinned brightly.

Fred shook his head as laughter jostled his shoulders, "Maybe we should have a code word so I can warn you if something is getting out of hand."

Hermione's face cringed, "I don't know; that could be very dangerous for you. What if you overuse it and I try to jinx you?"

"I swear to only use it in extreme circumstances," Fred held up his right hand as if he was making an official pledge. "I promise to use my powers for good not evil."

Hermione rolled her eyes and giggled, "How about 'baby brain;' it's simple and to the point."

"Done," Fred held out his oath hand and Hermione shook it in agreement.

"Hermione, we're ready for you now," Annie held the door open and waited for Hermione and Fred to follow.

Fred stopped at the doorway and glanced at Hermione, "You sure you want me in there with you; I won't be intruding?"

"What? Have you gotten baby brain too? You basically dared me to come here, you have to come with me and hold my hand, Fred Weasley," Hermione sounded so irritated, he almost regretted promising to use their phrase for only extreme issues.

Annie asked Hermione to take a seat on the examination table, which looked more like an overstuffed lounge chair that was permanently in a reclined position. The nurse took a little vile of potion from one of the cabinets and shook the blue and pink liquid until it became a vivid purple mixture.

"Drink this _very_ quickly; you want to taste as little of it as possible."

Hermione gave a skeptical look to Annie and uncorked the potion, "Are there actually any potions here that taste _good_?" She quickly threw the liquid to the back of her throat and immediately began to look ill.

Fred got a little scared as Hermione's skin took on a green tinge, "Is that normal?"

Annie glance between the witch and wizard in front of her; she turned away to hide her smirk, "Unfortunately, yes. Give it about fifteen minutes and then the Healer can come in and perform the spell."

Fred leaned forward on his swiveling stool and offered his hand to a very pale but green Hermione.

"Don't take this the wrong way; but in this _precise_ moment, I really do _not_ like you Fred," Hermione covered her eyes and tried to focus on anything other than the churning feeling deep inside her gut. She eagerly took hold of Fred's outstretched hand and held onto him tightly.

Fred held his tongue but smirked at Hermione's comment.

They sat in silence for the remainder of the fifteen minutes. Hermione was too afraid of what would come out of her mouth if she opened it, but she did continue to grasp Fred's hand like her life depended on it. He squeezed Hermione's hand every once in a while to try to offer comfort and support, but Fred didn't have any idea what to do otherwise.

When the Healer finally entered the room, Hermione released Fred's hand to allow herself to sit up. She almost appeared to look normal again; the green shadow finally beginning to fade. Fred flexed his fingers a bit to subside the prickling feeling and rubbed his hands together impatiently.

"Is the spell going to hurt?" Hermione voice sounded cool and steady, but her eyes were a bit wide.

"Not at all, Hermione." Healer Kellin put down the paperwork she had carried into the room, "Now please just lay back and try to relax; you won't feel a thing."

Hermione adjusted herself back into the supine position, closed her eyes tightly and stretched her arm blindly toward Fred.

"Oh," Fred fumbled a bit as he folded his hand around Hermione's again.

Healer Kellin muttered an old Latin spell as she waved her slightly stubby brown wand over Hermione's baby bump.

A thin purplish mist rose up and hovered above Hermione's stomach. It appeared to grow denser as the Healer continued to repeat the spell. Once Fred could no longer see through the haze, Healer Kellin swiped her hand through the solid looking fog. When she removed her hand, she was holding a small piece of parchment.

"Well, are you ready?"

Hermione opened her eyes and nodded. She held out a shaky hand and took the paper.

' _Baby Weasley-Granger_

 _Gender: Female_

 _Eyes: Blue Hazel_

 _Hair: Light Auburn_

 _Medical Complications: None to date_

 _Measuring: 70_ _th_ _percentile'_

It felt like a huge weight had simply evaporated from Hermione's shoulders, "It's a girl. Ron was right."

* * *

 _Eek, I went back and forth about if I wanted it to be twins or not. (That's what I had in the original story before rewrite.) But it felt kind of silly and this felt more real. Hope you all liked it!_

 _Let me know what you think!_

 _Follow, Favorite and REVIEW!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. if you like my writing please check out my other stories: ' Thrown Back', 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief'  
_


	7. Starting the Journey back to Normal

_OMG, thank you so much for the love everyone! To each person who followed or favorited; Thank you SO much. To the people who reviewed; Thank you SO SO much and please keep reviewing. MissesE, Ghj, dianaanne, Guest, and writersdream1661; you guys fuel the writing machine!_

 _Guest: please get a freaking fanfic account so I can thank you personally!_

 _***Sorry for not posting sooner. Site got messed up because they were trying to fix stuff._

 _And here is number 7, have fun and let me know what you all think!_

* * *

Chapter 7 – Starting the Journey back to Normal

Hermione cried; no, she sobbed. All the pent up anxiety finally came rushing forth, expelling itself from her body. Healer Kellin smiled sadly and offered a small hug to her patient.

"Hermione's informed me of your living arrangements, so I'm assuming that you will make sure that she gets home safely." The Healer looked at Fred and waited patiently for an answer.

"What… oh, yes… of course," Fred had a blank happy daze on his face. He was imagining Ron looking rather pleased with himself for being right about the baby.

"I'll also need you to come back in four weeks so that the baby can be measured and weighted again. She's growing a bit fast, but we just need to keep an eye on her for right now. There is nothing to worry about," Healer Kellin released Hermione and took a seat on the other stool beside the exam table.

"Of course, Olivia. I'll make an appointment with Annie before I leave," Hermione's eyes were still rimmed in red, but her smile was almost blinding.

"Next time you're here, we need to find you a midwife and decide your birth plan," Olivia Kellin sounded very official. But before she excused herself from the room, she gave one more hug to her patient, "And congratulations, Hermione."

* * *

Hermione asked Fred to not spread the news of the baby's gender for a few days. She wanted to keep the information to herself for a little while. Fred couldn't understand why she didn't want to shout it from the rooftops, but he realized that it wasn't his place and he honestly just felt privileged to have been with her when she found out.

After the third day of radio silence with the Grangers and the Weasleys, Fred discovered why Hermione didn't want to tell anyone yet.

*Knock knock*

Fred opened the door to find a very tired looking Harry Potter in the hallway.

"Hey Harry, how have you been?"

Harry followed Fred into the apartment and closed the door behind him, "Fine. Completely exhausted from training the past few days; today was my first night off in the last week." Harry looked around the living room, "Is Hermione ready to go?"

"Um... I don't know. She's been in her room since dinner. Where are you two off to?"

Harry wore a confused expression, "I thought she would have told you since you were the one to convince her to find out the baby's gender." He shrugged, "Anyway, thanks for making her go to St. Mungo's. I've been trying to figure out a way to get Hermione to go for the past month, but I've been terrified to bring it up."

"Sure Harry. But where are you two going?" Fred was a annoyed his question had been overlooked.

"Oh right, sorry." Harry rubbed his face in an attempt to wake up more, "We're off to the Cemetery in Essex…"

"To visit Ron," Hermione finished Harry's explanation as she emerged from her room. She wore a simple, knee length, black dress under her purple wool coat. "That's why I didn't want to tell anyone yet. I wanted to tell Ron first. Sort of a moving forward exercise; is that ridiculous?"

"No, not even a little," Fred shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. The idea didn't sound silly, but it made him uncomfortable for some reason. " _I_ could have gone with you to see Ron," He wasn't sure why, but the comment made Fred even more uneasy.

Hermione smiled sadly at Fred, "I know Fred. You've done more than your share of crazy pregnancy things with me this week." She stepped forward and gave Fred a firm side hug before leading Harry out of the door.

* * *

The sun was setting over the west horizon as Hermione and Harry slowly stepped through the grave yard. They were no strangers to gravestones, that was one of the reasons that Hermione felt like she needed Harry for this small journey. They had done this several months ago for Harry; visiting loved ones who had passed on, so that the living could take another step forward in their own lives.

"I was a bit surprised you asked me to come with you." Harry chuckled lightly, "I was afraid I was being replaced by Fred when you told me about my goddaughter."

Hermione tightened the hold she had on Harry's arm, "Don't be ridiculous Harry. I couldn't visit Ron, with this kind of news, without you." She thought of the many dangerous adventures that they had all encountered together over the years, "We're the Golden Trio; always will be." Hermione chuckled, but the laughter didn't quite reach her eyes.

They came to a halt in front of a simple grey stone grave marker. Hermione took Harry's hand and used his strength and stability to lower herself onto her knees in front of the headstone. She brushed away some of the debris that had collected around the base of the stone and then ran the pads of her fingers over the etching of his name.

'Ronald Bilius Weasley'

Hermione sighed and smiled as she thought about his overjoyed expressions when she told him they were expecting a baby.

"You were right, Ron; it's a girl. I think I've finally settled on 'Elizabeth Grace Weasley.' I hope you like that. Grace was actually my great-grandmother's name. She was always such a lovely woman. She had these amazing stories about magic and funny sounding spells. I think she was actually a squib, so I thought I should honor her since she's the reason I have magic. She's the reason I have you and Harry." Hermione was surprised that she wasn't crying. It felt right to talk to Ron like this, explaining what was going on and how she felt.

Harry knelt down next to Hermione and took her hand, "Ginny and I will take good care of Hermione and Elizabeth. Don't worry about a thing. I'm going to spoil my goddaughter terribly though, so… I apologizes for that in advance."

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "Ron will make sure she doesn't turn out rotten. And I'll be here to make sure you don't get too ridiculous with gifts." She turned her attention back to the gravestone, "And everyone will make sure that Eliza knows how wonderful and brave her father was."

"And how brilliant you were at playing keeper; or how you took us to Hogwarts in a flying car..."

"Maybe we can leave a few things out," Hermione began to laugh. "What about how he and the twins rescued you from the Dursley's one summer; or how he destroyed one of Voldemort's horcuxes with the sword of Gryffindor?"

"What about how he asked his girlfriend of a few months to marry him when they were only eighteen and then promptly got her pregnant?" Harry's eyes glinted teasingly as he let go of Hermione's hand and almost collapsed from laughter.

Hermione's face began to turn a dark shade of red, "Good Lord, Harry James Potter…. If you tell my daughter that, I will hex you into... I'll hex you so badly _Ginny_ won't even recognize you!"

"Alright, alright… only joking, Hermione." Harry was still chuckling, but he tried to collect himself. He threw an arm around Hermione's shoulder and allowed her to lean her head in. "Do you feel better now?"

Harry felt Hermione nod her head against his cheek, "Much better. With all our arguments, I usually got in the last word. But I'm actually really happy that Ron got to win this one." Hermione smiled and placed her hand on Ron's name again. "Thank you for coming with me, Harry."

"Sorry you had to wait three days," Harry yawned widely and wore a sleepy smile as he got himself and Hermione to their feet.

"So, Elizabeth Grace? I really like that." As they wove their way back out of the cemetery, Harry continued to hold Hermione's hand.

Harry had always felt guilty about how the people who supported him ended up sacrificing so much; many sacrificing their very lives. But no one laid an ounce of blame on him. Ron had named him godfather the instant they knew of the child's existence. Hermione had basically become his sister. She and Elizabeth were his family now, and that thought made him happier than he could ever explain put into words.

He smiled at Hermione as they waited for the tube, "Ginny wanted me to remind you of a few things before you went off and told everyone about your daughter."

Hermione's lips twitched upward, but she tried to keep her expression even, "Alright, let's have it then."

Harry cleared his throat as he took out a small folded piece of parchment, "First off, owl Ginny immediately so that she knows if it's a boy or a girl. I thought I would leave you the honor of informing her if she has a godson or goddaughter."

"Why, thank you Harry," The left side of Hermione's mouth lifted.

"Second, be prepared for a baby shower. Oh hold on... it says baby showers; with an 's.' I guess Ginny is assuming that your mum and Molly will probably want to throw separate baby showers for you with our whole magical vs. muggle issues."

Hermione shook her head and shrugged, "I guess that makes sense."

Harry turned over the page and continued to relay Ginny's message, "And third, you need to start eating more and eating better. She then goes on to threaten you and insinuates that she'll get Fred to send her updates on your eating habits if you don't gain some weight."

Hermione couldn't contain her grin any longer when she realized that Harry was having to paraphrase Ginny's words, "Good grief, what on earth did she say that you're not comfortable reading it?"

Harry's ears appeared to be a bit pink as he crumbled up the parchment and threw it away in the nearest bin.

"Let's just get you home, Hermione."

* * *

 _Hehe, had to throw some humor in there. Hope you all liked. =)_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review! Reviews help feed the writing machine!  
_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. if you like my writing please take a look at 'Thrown Back,' 'Penelope Jackson: The Lightning Thief,' and 'Life as a Demigod.'_


	8. Judgement

_Happy Tuesday! Hope everyone is doing well and ready for the next chappie. =)_

 _Thank yous to everyone who Followed and Favorited this last week. You are all absolutely wonderful individuals. And to riptidedautlessgryffindor, JordynMaggie16, MissessE and MRSDARRENCRISS589; you all keep my writing brain motivated. Bless you! lol._

* * *

Chapter 8 – Judgement

The next two weeks consisted of Hermione and Fred's apartment being taken over by Molly and Mrs. Granger's options for each of the baby showers. The two expectant grandmothers' had hoped to throw a combined shower for Hermione, but the exposure possibilities were too high for that to be an option.

The apartment was littered with parchment and papers with hurriedly scribbled ideas and options from everything from color choices and themes, to recommendations for the baby registry.

Fred came up from closing the shop one day to find Hermione on the floor in front of the coffee table in the sitting room; her forehead laying on the edge of the short table. Fred noticed that her shoulders weren't shaking so he was hopeful that she hadn't broken down from the stress of everything baby, pink and frilly. He did catch a few mumblings of her talking to herself… or possibly to Eliza.

"… I cannot do this… why on earth do we have to have _two_ showers… what could so many people possibly have to buy you… I would very much appreciate if you didn't kick me there…"

"Hermione, are you all right?" Fred struggled very hard not to smile or laugh.

Hermione didn't move an inch, "I'm fine. My mother and Molly are just… a little _overenthusiastic_ for me at the moment."

Fred removed his bright orange work cloak and threw it over the coat rack. He settled on the couch somewhat next to Hermione and leaned forward in an attempt to speak to her face instead of the back of her head.

"Can I get you anything?"

Hermione thought a moment, "No, not really. I ate some fruit and yogurt for a snack after lunch and I've been drinking water and tea since I got home from St. Mungo's, so I'm fine right now." She turned her head slightly to face Fred, but still had the table supporting her head, "You can tell Ginny I'm eating as well as I can. I've had a craving for fish and chips all day though, what do you think your sister would say to that?" There was a little evil twinkle in Hermione's eyes as she thought about Ginny's tirade about eating better. Harry still wouldn't disclose what had been in Ginny's letter, but that just lead to Hermione's imagination running amok and it entertained her _very_ much.

Fred allowed a smirk to grace his face, "I think it might be difficult for her to have an opinion on something she'll never know about…"

Fred pulled the mentally exhausted Hermione from the floor and began insisting that she allow him to take her out for dinner.

"Come on, you've only gone outside to go to work or when Harry comes 'round and asks you to walk around Diagon Alley with him. And that's just ridiculous; you need to get out of this apartment. I refuse to get a howler from Ginny when she finds out that you've turned into a recluse." Fred didn't really give her a choice. He marched into Hermione's room and retrieved her shoes and a jacket and held them out to her.

Hermione laughed at Fred's antics, and took her shoes. She was surprised to find that the ballet slippers Fred had handed her were the favorite pair that she had been looking for the past few days. Hermione tossed them on the ground and slipped them on easily. She pulled her jacket on as Fred grabbed a tamer grey checkered coat off the rack and waited for Hermione patiently by the door.

"Where did you find my shoes?" Hermione asked as thy descended the stairs.

"Under your bed; they're the ones you were ranting about being ' _the only comfortable shoes ever made_ ' so I thought they would be good for an outing."

"Oh Merline, did I really say that? I can't even recall…" Hermione's eyebrows knit together as she tried to remember.

Fred chuckled and followed Hermione onto the streets of Diagon Alley.

"So I know this really smashing place for fish and chips, but it's in muggle London. Are you up for that?" Fred asked as he steered them toward The Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione tapped the bricks in the wall to allow them to pass through the tavern, "Well, since we're already walking this way..." She offered Fred a wide smirk and waved at Tom as they ventured out to the muggle street.

Fred stuffed his hands into his pocket, mostly from habit, and offered his elbow to Hermione, "Can't afford to lose you; I'd probably end up on quite a few hit lists if I don't bring you back in one piece."

"Haha, Mr. Weasley," Hermione shook her head and took Fred's elbow with feigned reluctance.

They chatted about their work days as they walked the streets of muggle London. Hermione had not really ventured out much since getting pregnant and being in a state of mourning and slight depression. She noticed that the city hadn't changed much since the war, and that made her a bit uneasy. The wizarding world had needed to rebuild so much, but the muggle world almost looked untouched… like the war hadn't happened, or didn't matter.

"… I think I lost you, Hermione." Fred chuckled lightly as he halted in front of a little pub off of Shaftesbury Avenue.

Hermione smiled sadly, "Sorry… I was just thinking."

Fred snorted, "Yes, well I gathered that. You are a fairly bright witch, if I remember correctly."

The brunette witch let out a short chuckle.

"Well, go on. Tell me what you were thinking about," Fred leaned against the wall of the building.

Hermione sighed, "I was just thinking about how little London has changed since the war. It's… it's like the war…"

"…Never even happened? Yea, I know what you mean. But that doesn't mean the sacrifices matter any less." Fred wrapped an arm around her shoulders and drew her into the pub.

"How do you know how I was feeling about all this? That was the exact thought that was going through my mind." Hermione knew that she shouldn't have been shocked by Fred's intelligence, he and George, after all, had begun their own company and developed many different products that required complicated charms and potions. But the level of maturity and intuition took her by surprise; Ron and Harry never really exhibited such things.

"Well, George and I had very similar feelings toward London when we first threw ourselves back into the store. We traveled to muggle areas quite a bit researching for pranks and investigating muggle magic shops. We had a difficult time with how cheerful everyone was; I mean, yea, Voldemort was finally dead and Harry and the other Aurors were rounding up any remaining Death Eaters. Yay... we're safe finally. But everyone in our world mourned over the personal cost of the war; so seeing all these muggles smiling and completely oblivious to the fact that the 'Death toll reached unspeakable levels after war,' was actually really hard to digest."

Fred pulled out a chair for Hermione and settled down next to her. Hermione gazed at the redhead like he was a very complex puzzle she was attempting to solve. He shifted uncomfortably under her stare and flattened his hair down to distract himself.

"Sorry, Hermione; shouldn't be rambling on like you don't already know all this." Fred was a bit ashamed of himself for bringing up things that he knew Hermione was trying to move forward from. He hung his head a little as he glanced over the menu on the table.

"No, no. Thank you, Fred." Hermione reached across the table and squeezed his hand, "It's actually quite comforting to know I'm not the only one who has issues with this." She smiled and returned her hand to her lap as a waiter came by to take their orders.

* * *

They ate in almost complete silence.

"I'm assuming you really like the fish and chips, then." Fred flagged down the waiter to order another pale ale.

Hermione covered her mouth with the palm of her hand and snickered. She quickly swallowed the chip she was chewing, "I'm so sorry. Like I said, I've been craving these all day. It's absolutely _ridiculous_ how good it tastes."

They continued to chat through the meal, Hermione revealing some of her other cravings that she had the past few days and Fred commenting on places that he knew where they could get the best tasting versions.

When they were finished with the food, Fred paid for the tab. Hermione tried to protest, "But Fred, I can pay for my own meal." She actually became a bit flustered over being taken care of.

"Hermione, this has nothing to do with your pride," Fred laughed; he knew how much the witch detested anyone who questioned her ability to look after herself. "I suggested going out, so I'm paying. If you like I can even go more logical than that; George and I have quite a bit of money from the success of the shops and you're technically still an intern at the hospital."

The brunette glowered a bit at the rational reason that was being offered to her. She huffed a little as they exited the pub.

Fred smiled and shook his head, "You know you can always treat _me_ to dinner when you become some famous Healer and they rename St. Mungo's after you."

"Yea, all right," Hermione found that she was smiling again. She took Fred's offered elbow as they began the slow trek back to the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

There was a small bookstore along the way that Hermione had not seen when they passed earlier, "Would you mind if we stopped for a minute?"

"Of course not," Fred opened the door for Hermione as they ventured into the quaint little shop.

Hermione immediately got distracted by the special edition books that were on display right at the front of the store. There were several different anniversary prints for Shakespeare, Bronte and Tolstoy just to name a few. "I think this might be my new favorite store…"

Fred laughed at Hermione's dreamy expression and tried to get her to focus long enough on him to let her know that he would be wondering about looking for muggle magic books.

They spent almost an hour in the shop, just flipping through pages of magnificent tomes and finding some interesting editions of several books. Fred found a book called ' _Magic by Misdirection'_ and was completely enamored, while Hermione couldn't bring herself to put down an early edition of ' _The Golden Book of Fairy Tales_.'

Hermione was so distracted that she didn't notice the two older women approach her and corner her by one of the bookshelves.

Without asking, the white haired lady placed a hand on Hermione's protruding stomach, "Oh, a baby; that's so exciting! How far along are you my dear?"

Hermione tried to back away from the woman's hand, but found her back pressed up against the bookshelf, "Um… just a week or so shy of six months." She clutched the fairy tale book to her side and wrapped her left hand over her baby bump, trying to deter the women from touching it again.

"Oh, dear," The grey haired woman exclaimed to her friend. "No ring…" She harshly whispered to her white haired, wrinkled friend. The white haired woman shook her head and wore a distressed expression. She then began to talk as if Hermione wasn't even there, trapped right in front of them.

"This younger generation now a days... they don't seem to understand the sanctity of marriage," The grey haired woman continued to voice her opinion so loudly that the whole book store seemed to have fallen silent and were leaning in to listen.

"Or even the importance for a child to have both a mother _and_ a father. How will she raise a child all on her own?" The woman with the white hair added. Then the woman turned to Hermione, as if suddenly remembering that she was still there, "How will you support a child on your own, dear? Where is the father?"

"Right here, actually," Fred swept around the two older women and gently brushed them aside to extract Hermione from the blocked off corner. Hermione's expression was a mixture of confusion and anger; Fred wanted to get her away from these women as quickly as possible.

Fred wrapped his hand around Hermione's thin fingers and forced a smile on his face while addressing the two judgmental hags. He desperately wanted to tell the despicable women off, but he knew that would serve no purpose, since he couldn't really explain the circumstances truthfully. So he instead settled for making them feel utterly stupid.

"I'm so sorry that my wife's fingers swelled up a bit too much for her wedding band today; you know with being pregnant and all," Fred's smile turned a little genuine as the two women's faces began to contort into confused frowns.

Hermione didn't say a word, but did squeeze Fred's hand quite hard as the two haggard women opened their mouths and began to string together words of apology.

Fred waved his hand quickly in front of them, "No, no. Please keep your apologies; it was our fault for trespassing on your bigoted ideals."

The mouths of the two women fell open as Fred placed down both of the books that he and Hermione had been looking at and quickly guided the brunette witch out of the door and away from the shop.

As they got a little ways down the street, Fred released Hermione's hand and pulled her to the side of the walk way, "Are you alright?"

Hermione looked up to meet Fred's eyes. She noticed how much concern his face wore and her slight anger over being taken care of unasked faded away. "Yes, I think I'm fine now." Hermione rubbed her eyes a bit to clear any hateful tears and took Fred's arm as she maneuvered them back into the flow of walking people.

"You know, I could have taken care of them on my own," Hermione didn't allow her voice to have any edge, but she did feel the need to voice this.

"Oh, I'm fully aware of that." Fred glanced down at the pretty brunette and flashed her a toothy grin, "But I was honestly afraid you would accidentally hex them into oblivion if you opened your mouth." He snickered at the idea of Hermione blowing up the two pompous, old women. "And then the Ministry would have had to get involved; they would have had to modify quite a few memories and send the lot of them to St. Mongu's… Not to mention the horrible damage you would have done to the book shop."

He glanced at Hermione again and a small sense of pride washed over him as he found her smiling brightly. "Yes, that would have been awful."

"Much better to just make people like that feel completely ridiculous. Maybe they'll think twice about voicing their judgments next time," Fred held the door of the Leaky Cauldron open for Hermione. She opened the wall into Diagon Alley and they made their way back home to the shared apartment above the twins' shop.

Hermione removed her jacket and kicked her shoes under the sofa. She was exhausted from the walking and the emotional upheaval that the two hags had caused, "I think I'm off to bed a bit early today."

Fred offered her a smile, "Goodnight Hermione."

"Goodnight Fred," Hermione opened the door but then paused to turn and face the Weasley. She looked at the redhead with soft sad eyes and glanced at the floor before meeting his gaze again, "Thank you… you know, for everything tonight."

Fred was a little confused by her shy mannerisms, "Of course. What are friends for if they can't pretend to be your husband on occasion?" He chuckled, but he noted that his laughter sounded a bit forced.

Hermione smiled again and closed the door of her room between them.

* * *

 _Oh man... hope you all enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. I love these two. =)_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and REVIEW!_

 _I LOVE reviews... have I mentioned that? Oh yes, they're the only thing that keep me going at times... Please review?_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Take a look at my other stories: ' Thrown Back,' 'Penelope Jackson: The Lighting Thief' and 'Life as Demigods.'_


	9. Nightmares

_Hey all! So yea, you all have me kind of choked up... over 50 followers. WOW. Thank you. Favortie-ers; you all rock._

 _But special thank yous to the reviewers! Guest, JordynMaggie16, and MissesE; you all are the best! Thank you for taking a minute and reviewing my little story. It keeps my muse going. =)_

 _Hope you all like!_

* * *

Chapter 9 – Nightmares

The baby showers had been _ridiculous_ , just as Hermione had anticipated. Ginny had been her pillar of sanity during Molly's explosion of ruffles and pink last week and Harry had been her savior during her own mother's crazy collection of pastels and lace today.

Harry was currently sitting on the sofa in Hermione's apartment trying to help the witch find a solution for where she was going to put all of the new baby items that had been purchased for herself and Eliza.

Hermione was lying down on the couch with her slightly swollen feet over Harry's lap and a pillow covering her face, "I _cannot_ handle this… I'm going to need a completely separate apartment just for the baby…"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle, "Well you can always store your extra things at Grimmald Place. Merlin knows I have the space there."

"Thank you Harry, but maybe I can put an undetectable expanding charm on my closet or something. Do you think Fred would mind if I tinkered a bit with that?" Hermione clutched the pillow to her chest and glanced at her best friend.

"Probably not. I don't think anyone would refuse you right now in your state," Harry smirked slightly before he realized what he had said.

"What do you mean in _my state_?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at the black haired wizard sitting directly next to her and began to take inventory of jinxes she could perform without her wand.

Harry gaped at his friend and cursed himself for not choosing his words more carefully. Hermione had become extremely irritable over the last few weeks because of the baby showers. He should have just steered clear of certain phrases…

"I… I just meant… oh Merlin…" Harry mumbled and slid himself out from under Hermione's legs and backed up into the kitchen. "Would you like some tea, Hermione?"

At that moment, Fred walked through the door and snorted when he saw a retreating Boy-Who-Lived and his livid looking roommate, "Has the Pregnancy Brain gotten to you again Hermione?"

The brunette witch turned her glare onto the redhead, but Fred wasn't fazed in the slightest. He walked over to Hermione and dropped a small box of Glacial Snow Flakes on the witch's abdomen.

"Oh… thank you Fred. I was just talking to Harry about these as we left my parents' house," Hermione opened the box and popped a sugary snow flake into her mouth.

Fred smirked at Harry, as the savior of the wizarding world's mouth fell open, "How the bloody hell did you do that?"

"She mentioned them last night before she went to bed. I've been stockpiling whatever sweets she gets a craving for so that I can enter my apartment safely," Fred laughed as he softly spoke.

"Thanks for the rescue," Harry mumbled so that Hermione couldn't overhear.

"Well, who would have thought that the _Chosen One_ would need rescuing from Hermione Granger," Fred placed a heaping spoonful of honey into his own tea cup and poured milk and a single sugar cube into Hermione's.

Harry smiled as he had a flashback of their hunt for the Horcuxes, "If only you knew…"

* * *

After Harry had left for the night, Fred and Hermione stayed on the sofa and chatted about their days per their routine.

Hermione told him all about the crazy muggle baby shower and how she couldn't possibly use everything that was given to her, let alone store all the items. Fred tried to distract her with the story of a confused wizard from Romania who had come into the shop asking for dragon skin gloves. But when George had tried to direct the gentleman to the quidditch supply store down the road, the man became flustered and refused to leave. Fred had to personally lead the foreign wizard down the four shops and opened the door of the sports store for the man.

Hermione laughed so hard she had snorted and then she was utterly embarrassed, "Oh I shouldn't be laughing at such things. What a horrible example I'm setting for the baby." She yawned very loudly and settled further into the sofa cushion.

"I think it is time for bed, Ms. Granger," Fred patted Hermione's feet, stood up and offered his hands to assist her.

Hermione smiled sleepily and waved his arms away, "I think I'm just going to sleep here tonight. Elizabeth is settled and I don't want to wake her… Or she'll be jumping all over the place as I try to rest. Would you please bring me a blanket?"

Fred smirked as he shook his head and went to Hermione's room to retrieve a small quilt that Molly had made for the young witch a few Christmas's ago. He draped it over Hermione and jokingly tucked her in, "Don't you _dare_ roll over, woman. I don't need you falling off the sofa. I don't want to go to St. Mungo's in the middle of the night and have to explain to your coworkers."

"Yes, yes Fred. I promise," Hermione caught Fred's hand and squeezed it in thanks. Her eyes fluttered closed with a smile still in place.

* * *

"NO. STOP!"

Fred sat up in bed quickly and brandished his wand around blindly.

"RON, NO!"

Hermione screams were immediately followed by sobbing.

Fred tumbled from his bed and quickly ran into the sitting room. He found Hermione struggling to sit up on the couch while she attempted to regulate her breathing and clam down. The redhead sat down behind the witch and instinctively pulled Hermione's back into his arms. He held her tightly and tried to offer soothing words for comfort.

Hermione held onto his arms so tightly she was sure that she must have left nail marks on his skin. But the nightmare had left her gasping and she still couldn't control her hyper breathing.

"It's alright Hermione. You're safe… you're in your apartment above the shop." The redheaded wizard whispered in her ear, as he struggled to remain calm himself, "It's me, Fred… I'm right here. You're alright."

Hermione's sobs slowly calmed into gentle crying; her body no longer heaving, but just slightly shaking. Fred was relieved when he felt her body finally let go of its tense position and she leaned back into his hold.

He let out a sigh, "Can I get you anything?"

Hermione's voice was small, "No."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Fred reached behind him and collected some tissues from the side table and handed them to Hermione.

She shook her head minutely and began to dab her wet face, "Would… can you… could you just stay with me for a minute?"

Fred adjusted himself on the sofa a bit, so he was more comfortable, "Of course Hermione." He leaned his head back into the cushion and draped his arm along the back of the couch. Fred knew that he wasn't going to leave Hermione alone, so he settled in for a night on the sofa.

* * *

Fred Weasley awoke to sunlight streaming through the kitchen window and the muffled sound of Diagon Alley rising for the morning commuters. His neck was a bit cramped but it seemed to correct itself after he stretched it the opposite direction.

Hermione was thankfully sleeping soundly with her head in his lap, but now he didn't want to move for fear of waking her. She seemed so peaceful; such a stark difference from her reaction to her nightmare last night. Fred leaned forward a bit to find that there was a tiny smile playing at her sleeping lips. He leaned back again and closed his eyes; he would give her a little while longer before he tried to maneuver out from under her. Fred's fingers began to play with a stray curl that had fallen across his legs.

There was a knock at the door and it swung open before Fred was able to utter a single word.

George stood in the doorway taking in the interesting sight in front of him, "Um… 'Morning…"

Fred raised an index finger to his lips and glared at his twin and mumbled harshly, "Belt it!"

George crept forward and grabbed a pillow from one of the armchairs. He slid his hand under Hermione's neck as Fred maneuvered off the couch. George then placed the pillow under the witch's head and followed his twin into the bedroom.

As soon as the door closed, George began his questioning. "So… Good night's rest?"

"Not really," Fred fumbled around his dresser and finally found a clean button-down shirt and crisp trousers for work. "Hermione had some terrible nightmare and screamed me awake last night."

"Ah, explains the whole sleeping on the couch with the mother of our niece thing…" George tried not to smirk, but it was very difficult.

"I don't think I'm awake enough for this conversation Georgie. Can you insinuate after I've had my tea?" Fred felt his face get a bit heated, but he couldn't place the reason why.

There was a knock on his bedroom door and George opened it to find a pajama clad Hermione standing there looking a bit upset, "Good morning George. Fred, I'm so sorry for waking you last night. Did I keep you up?"

Fred smiled at her cheerfully, "No, of course not." He yawned as his tiredly tugged at his tie.

"Here, let me do that. It's the least I can do," Hermione stepped past George and took the ends of Fred's tie in her nimble fingers. George watched in confused awe as he witnessed the easygoing interaction between Hermione and his twin.

Fred watched Hermione thoughtfully and smiled as she patted the knot on his tie and he flipped his collar down, "Thanks Hermione. When is your shift at St. Mungo's today?"

George stood by completely ignored, which he found utterly hilarious. He couldn't keep the smirk from his face as he continued to take in the scene before him. Hermione took a seat at the end of Fred's bed and pulled her oversized sweater tightly around her.

"I'm actually thinking about calling in ill. I'm exhausted and I feel somewhat nauseated," Hermione covered her mouth with her palm and took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm sure Angelina will understand. That is her niece after all," Fred knelt down and ducked under his bed to try to locate his shoes.

George still stood by the door, holding the handle and smirking to himself. Even at the mention of his fiancé, neither of the other inhabitants of the room had even glanced in his direction.

"Oh," Hermione placed a hand on the side of her stomach. "Oh my God, Fred. Fred, here, give me your hand." Fred sat back on his heels. He had only found one loafer so far, but he stopped at the brunette's witch's insistence and offered over his free hand. Hermione took his fingers and placed them in the exact spot where her own fingers had just been.

"Blimey! That's her?" Fred's eyes widened in surprise as Elizabeth kicked his fingertips. Hermione laughed at his expression and nodded.

"Oh, George. Come here, you have to feel this," Hermione turned her attention to the other redhead and smiled broadly.

George looked around the room attempting to find another person that shared his name, pointing to himself and feigning shock. He walked over to Hermione and sat next to her on Fred's bed. When he felt his niece kick against his hand, George got a very silly grin on his face.

"Well, that's a bit of a thrill," George laughed as he stood and offered his hand to help Hermione up. She led him into the kitchen and put the kettle on for tea. Fred stumbled out of his room trying to put his shoes on as he continued walking through the apartment.

"Don't forget to Owl Angie if you're still needing to stay home today," Fred reminded Hermione as he grabbed his orange robes.

Hermione nodded her head, "I will; thank you." She handed George and Fred readied tea cups and shooed them into the hallway.

George shook his head slightly and eyed Fred as they got down to the shop and began getting things in order to open for the day. He checked his watch and noticed that there was twelve minutes until nine.

"Fred, can I ask you about something before we have to open the store?"

Fred flipped through some of the papers behind the counter looking for the inventory list for a delivery that they had received yesterday. "Of course; what is it?"

"How long have you fancied Hermione?"

* * *

 _So... you all know that I'm trying to keep this realistic pacing... so don't worry...=)_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	10. Denial

_Hello all! So glad that the slight cliffy didn't discourage people. Can't tell you all how much I appreciate all the Follows and Favorites. Also can't thank my wonderful Reviewers enough: pianomouse, Hayleemag, JordynMaggie16, MissesE, and Guest. I am so thankful for you all! Please keep reading my little story!_

 _So, shameless begging ahead: yesterday was my birthday and Saturday was Hermione's birthday, so I was hoping that you all would take part in celebrating both of our birthdays and give this little tale lots of reviews. The more the merrier! =)_

 _Please?_

* * *

Chapter 10 – Denial

The initial shock of George's question faded quickly and a ridiculous laughing sound erupted from Fred's chest.

"What? Are you mad?!" Fred was laughing so hard now there was water rimming his eyes. _Such a notion was crazy_ …

George glanced over his twin, a worried expression pulled at his eyebrows, "Well, you did like her while we were at Hogwarts… It's not that ridiculous of a question…"

"Yes, I almost fell in _love_ with her when she began recruiting people for Dumbledore's Army. You can't tell me that you didn't think she was attractive as well. Organized rebellion looked smashing on her, and when we all had to duel… she was brilliant!" Fred continued to laugh even through his confession.

"But you don't fancy her anymore?" George observed his twin carefully, trying to spot any kind of tell.

Fred shook his head as he wiped his tears away, "No, no; of course not. Those feeling faded a long time ago. And a _blind_ man could have seen how much Ron and Hermione liked each other. I wasn't going to get in the middle of all that."

George allowed a sad smile to cross his face as he thought about his younger brother, "Yea… those two were kind of daft back then. Everyone except them could see it…"

Fred nodded urgently, "Exactly. And who would want to be the person to get between that? That's why Hermione barely speaks to Lavender anymore. Bloody idiot, that one..."

"If you don't fancy Hermione, why don't you start dating then? I'm sure you need some time away from the apartment and the baby things," George suggested. He was still eyeing his brother, trying to gauge how truthful Fred was being to himself and the rest of the world.

"I don't know; just not interested at the moment. Trying to expand the shop and cover when Angie calls you away for wedding business seems to be taking up a lot of my time," Fred sat down behind the counter and looked over the delivery sheet that he had finally found at the bottom of the pile of parchment.

George snorted. "That's bollocks, and you know it," He muttered under his breath as he walked up to the door, unlocked it and flipped the sign over to 'open.' "Look Fred, _no_ judgment here. I was just curious. If you don't fancy Hermione, fine. But if you do like her, even just a little, I want you to make sure that you're thinking things through. Alright?"

Fred looked over his twin's face and saw the sincerity in his eyes, "Yea, alright." He tried to not laugh at the absurdity of the conversation again. There was no way that he fancied Hermione… _right_?

* * *

"Fred! Fred come here, we're celebrating!" Hermione ushered her roommate into the kitchen where Harry stood chuckling and holding a mug of hot chocolate.

"And what, may I ask, are we celebrating?" Fred questioned as Hermione handed him his own cup of hot chocolate, but he noticed that his came with a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top. Fred smiled to himself remembering that he had once corresponded with Hermione when he and George were in Mexico learning about the magical community there. He must have mentioned how much better he had liked the Mexican hot chocolate.

"We are apparently celebrating eggplants," Harry snickered as he tried to cover his words with a very unconvincing cough.

"What?" Fred was completely lost.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the Boy-who-lived and then turned her attention to the redhead with a joyful grin in place, "I am officially in my third trimester. Only about three months left of pregnancy before we all get to meet Elizabeth. And the book I just started reading says that she should roughly be the size of an eggplant." Hermione glanced at Harry again as if daring him to comment against the vegetable again.

Fred quickly took up the conversation as Harry fought another fit of laughter, "Oh, that's brilliant! So exciting. I can't believe she's going to really be here in three months' time." He spoke a bit quickly and a little louder than his normal volume in an attempt to cover the black haired boy's snickering.

"Harry James Potter, what on earth is wrong with you?!" Hermione couldn't quite wrap her head around what was so funny about what she had been talking about, but Harry just didn't seem to have the ability to contain himself.

"I just… I don't understand… why are we comparing Eliza to food?" He continued to laugh. In all honesty Harry didn't think it was really that humorous, but he kept imagining Ron confused beyond belief about why his daughter was being compared to a vegetable. He didn't want to mention who he was thinking about though; so instead, he happily took the brunt of Hermione's hormonal rage that night.

Fred had an idea of why Harry was unable to contain his laughter; he had experienced the same line of thinking when Hermione had first mentioned 'eggplant.' But he decided against confirming his suspicion and distracting Hermione to keep her spirits up, "Anything else interesting in your new book?"

Hermione snorted, "Nothing I am completely comfortable speaking to you two about."

Harry and Fred exchanged a perplexed look.

"What exactly does that mean Hermione?" Harry stressed each word individually. He was actually somewhat frightened asking the question; Hermione was normally excited to share newly acquired knowledge.

"You really don't want to know Harry. At least not until you have to worry about it yourself… Well not yourself, exactly. But until your married and are expecting a baby, you _don't_ need to know about these things," Hermione laughed lightly as she took a seat at the kitchen table and swiped some of the whip cream off of her hot chocolate with a fingertip.

Harry looked a little pale and sat down across from his best friend, "Yea, alright. I'll just take your word on that then…"

"And I thought the Chosen One was supposed to be all courageous and daring?" Fred clasped the younger wizard on the back and took his regular seat at the head of the table, "Is a little female anatomy scaring you silly?"

Wanting to quell the subject of Harry's personal life before either of the wizards got carried away, Hermione decided to dowse both boys with a friendly reminder, "Are you sure you really want to talk about Harry's personal life? Because as far as I know, it involves a fellow redhead that I'm almost certain you're related to."

"Well that's just an unfair play, Granger." Fred pulled a discussed face and took a swig of his cinnamon hot chocolate, "I don't want to know what my baby sister _does_ in her free time."

Harry almost inhaled his hot chocolate as he snorted in response to Fred's comment.

The three friends chatted and laughed long after their chocolate drinks were drained. Hermione was the first to excuse herself from the kitchen table, citing that her back was calling for the cushioning of her bed. She kissed both men goodnight before leaving the room.

Harry smiled and offered sweet dreams. But Fred sat there in shock at the tingle he felt on his cheek and the slight tug that pulled at his stomach.

* * *

Hermione didn't know what to do with herself anymore. She had originally thought that she could work until the end of her eighth month like her mother had done while pregnant; but Hermione was slowly coming to the realization that _that_ would not be possible.

While she had gotten by fairly well in the potions floor of St. Mungo's for the past few months, it was strictly due to the fact that Angelina had ordered some of the other interns to find a more comfortable chair for Hermione. She used it to elevate her feet in between adding ingredients and checking the cauldron. But now it was becoming difficult to extract herself from said chair; and her whole body seemed to ache from growing pains.

And Hermione, being Hermione, refused to acknowledge that things were getting out of hand. Her weekly checkups were still coming back clear of any complications or issues with herself or the baby, so Hermione almost assumed that it was all in her head. But when she had fallen asleep in the on call room three days in a row, Angie sent Fred a letter and expressed her concerns.

Fred had grown a little wary with so many of the Weasley women, current and future, Owling him and asking him to check in on Hermione and make sure that she's being looked after. He knew that Hermione was probably taking on too much, but he also knew that she was even more stubborn than anyone he knew.

The redheaded wizard came home to an empty apartment and another owl waiting on the windowsill.

' _Fred,_

 _Please don't worry about me. I may have fallen asleep in one of the on call rooms this afternoon. I'm staying a bit late so that I can finish the blood replenishing potions that Angie needs for tomorrow. Don't tell her what I'm doing; she'll just Owl your mum and Ginny._

– _Hermione'_

Fred shook his head and tried not to laugh; he was relieved it wasn't from a current or future Weasley. He glanced at the kitchen clock and noticed that it was only an hour later than Hermione's usual commute time home, so he knew that she would still be at St. Mungo's for a few hours. Fred grabbed his wool pea coat and wrapped an old Gryffindor scarf around his neck as he descended the stairs and ventured out into the frigid night.

Hermione had mentioned an unusual craving for Sesame Chicken the day before, so Fred went to the only decent Chinese restaurant that he knew of and asked for a couple dishes to-go. He found a secluded spot to apparate and appeared with a load crack right inside the doors of the magical hospital. He waved at the night guard and the nighttime receptionist; they all recognized him now and just waved him through. Fred made it to the elevators and stepped off at the third floor. He rounded the corner and strode through the hallway that led to Angelina's office and the Potions Lab.

"Granger, do you realize that you're not just putting yourself and that baby at risk when you do these ridiculous long nights; but that you're also putting _me_ at risk?" Fred smirked as he took in the scene in front on him. Hermione was reclined in her cushy chair flicking her wrist at each individual ingredient in the order in which they needed to be added to the cauldron.

Hermione giggled, "Yes, I know. I am sorry about that. I didn't mean to put you into the line of fire; but I needed to get my work done. You know how everyone worries about me; it's like I'm a piece of glass or some porcelain doll."

"Well, would the doll woman like to eat? I brought you Chinese contraband," Fred held up the bag filled with deliciously fried food that Ginny had insisted were bad for her growing niece.

"You didn't!" Hermione pulled herself from the chair and flicked her wand over the potion to set the cauldron paddle to stir automatically.

"I won't tell if you won't tell," Fred smiled wickedly at the younger witch as they broke open the boxes and happily feasted on the 'outlawed' food.

It took Fred almost two hours, but he had finally convinced Hermione that she could finish the rest of the potions tomorrow. They walked out of St. Mungo's and the witch immediately shivered.

"Bloody… Merlin…I thought I was supposed to be hot all the time while your pregnant, but I'm _freezing_!" Hermione shivered and pulled her jacket tighter around her body.

"Here, this might help a bit," Fred wrapped his own scarf around Hermione's neck and tucked the ends together to help hold in heat. He then offered his arm which she accepted gratefully. They made it to the muggle tube without any issue.

While waiting for the train, a man approached them and began asking them bizarre personal questions, thinking that they were a couple. Fred protectively wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder and politely asked the man to leave them be.

"It's very late, mate. We just want to get home."

Hermione felt a rush of relief as the man walked away; but when Fred removed his arm, she felt a bit panicked again. Hermione looked around to see if there was another issue that was making her nervous, but she found nothing that could be causing her anxiety. She grabbed Fred's arm again, and felt her heart skip at the contact.

Hermione looked up at Fred and analyzed his face; he seemed calm himself, so there was probably no kind of threat nearby. She tried to force her breathing to even out and concentrated on lowering the hyper thumping of her heart as it continued to speed up. Hermione leaned her head onto Fred's arm and closed her eyes to try to focus, but that only seemed to exasperate the hammering in her chest.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Fred smiled down at her, but there was a hint of concern in his eyes.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. Just jumpy it seems," Hermione stammered out the words more quickly than she had intended. She tried to return the smile; _he looks so handsome when he smiles._

 _What?!_

Hermione shook her head trying to dislodge the unexpected thought from her head. She let go of his arm and felt her body slowly come back to normal.

Oh, no; she had read about things like this happening in her pregnancy book. Hermione was afraid that this small episode might be caused by her hormones running rampant within her system. She couldn't let that happen. Fred was such a good friend; she had become so close with him over the last few months while being his roommate and Hermione refused to put their friendship into jeopardy. And if this was just hormones, there had to be a way of controlling and extinguishing them.

Hermione placed her hand back into the crook of Fred's elbow; she seemed calm enough now.

 _Yes, that's all this was; hormones._

* * *

 _Eek! Hope you all had fun with that._

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	11. An Ally

_Hello friends! Hope that everyone is having a good week so far._

 _Thank yous all around to the Followers and Favorite-ers of my little story this past week. You are all wonderful and keep me very motivated to continue. And my amazing Reviewers: BigBangVIP, WildestBreams72394, Guest and MissesE; thank you for the kind words, it means the world to me!_

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 11 - An Ally

The past few weeks had been somewhat difficult for Fred. He had tried to push the conversation with George out of his mind, but it continued to pop back to into this conscious thoughts at the strangest of times; once when Fred had found Hermione singing to the baby and wiggling along to the song, one time during the Weasley family dinner Hermione had asked him to escort her outside so she could have a quiet moment away from the ruckus of the Burrow, and another time when they had taken the tube back from a film together and she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Fred continued to give no credit to the thoughts and brushed them aside almost as soon as they surfaced; but that didn't mean that the thoughts had actually gone away.

Today Hermione had a day off, and she had asked if she could spend the free time down in the store helping to replenish stock. She sited that the solidarity of the apartment would make her crazy so Fred and George happily agreed knowing how proficient Hermione was with potions and charms. They knew that it definitely wouldn't hurt getting a jump start on stock numbers with December only a month away too.

"Well we can't have you doing any of the dangerous ones. Mum would probably have our heads," George chuckled as he went over the inventory numbers to see what Hermione could help with.

"Do any of the WonderWitch products need back stock? I always thought those were very interesting," Hermione looked over one of the other inventory sheets as Fred and George shared a baffled look.

"Who are you; and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Fred asked through a terrified mock expression.

Hermione laughed lightly, "Well, I don't think I would use any of the products. But I was always amazed at the complexity that the products seemed to require. It's very impressive magic and I was just curious how they worked."

"Ah, there's the brain of the Golden Trio," George chuckled heartily. "Well, I guess we could show you the potion for the pimple vanisher and possibly the charm for the Crush Blush. We almost sold out of that one last year."

Flora's head suddenly appeared between the bright orange curtains that separated the back rooms from the storefront, "Good morning, Hemrione!" The witch wore a broad grin, "I didn't realize that you were actually serious when you said you were going to help out today. You sure you want to be a part of the madness?"

Hermione mirrored the other girl's expression, "Why not. It could be fun before I have to take on motherly duties."

"Aw, we won't let you get all boring after the baby comes 'Mione. Don't you worry," Flora was interrupted by George clearing his throat somewhat impatiently. "Oh, sorry. It's just nice to have another girl in the ranks. Someone out front is asking about a bulk order of Shield Hats, sir."

George handed off the inventory list to Fred and followed Flora out onto the floor.

"You'd think we were barbaric or something," Fred mumbled as he faced a still smiling Hermione.

"Or she's like Ginny and just needs a friendly ear that will listen instead of make jokes," Hermione giggled at the shocked look Fred wore due to the comment.

"I listen to _you_ well enough, Granger. And I know better than to make light of our conversations if it's not appropriate to do so," Fred stuck his nose up into the air and tried to look insulted.

"Yes, and that's why you're my favorite of the Weasley twins." Hermione laid a hand on Fred's forearm and smiled mischievously, "SHH, don't tell George."

Fred smirked, "Your secrets safe with me, Hermione." He turned toward the curtain, "I'll be right back. Need to check on George and make sure everything's being handled with that order." Hermione nodded her head and returned to skimming over the list of in-stock items.

As soon as Fred stepped through the curtain and onto the floor of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, he released a sigh and walked over to a corner of the storefront that had no customers crowding around it. He busied himself with arranging some of the shelves to make sure the items were all lined up and correct way around. The thoughts had invaded his mind again…

George had noticed Fred's strange behavior firsthand at the Burrow, and he had listened intently when his twin had mentioned an incident on the tube last week. George knew what was going on, but he was curious for how much longer Fred was going to deny what he was feeling.

As George had been explaining some of the general mechanics of the shield hats to the representative of the Spanish Magical Ambassador, he had noticed Fred exit the backroom looking defeated. When he finished the brief conversation and had scheduled an appointment of demonstration for the ambassador, George had asked Flora to cover the register and Kalvin to see to the customers on the floor.

He quickly ducked his head behind the curtain, "Hermione, would you like some tea? I think Fred and I need a coffee run."

"Yes, that sounds lovely. Just some Breakfast Tea, please; Fred knows how I like it prepared," Hermione innocently commented.

"Of course he does… Well why don't you begin pulling the ingredients for the vanishing potion and get started on that. I'm sure it will seem very simple for you once you get started," George winked toward the witch before walking over to his twin and dragging the other redhead out into Diagon Alley by his upper arm.

Fred pulled his arm from George's grasp, but not in a harsh manner, "What is it George?"

George's voice was calm, "Anything you'd like to tell me?"

"No."

Fred continued to walk along the wizarding street in silence as George led them to the tea and coffee shop a few stores down. George looked over at his twin and comically sighed in exasperation.

Fred looked at George feeling a bit perplexed, and finally opened up a little, "Well, I do have something to harp at you about."

"And what's that Freddie?" George ordered two coffee's and three Breakfast tea's to-go.

"Why did you think I fancied Hermione?"

George tried not to react to the ridiculous question, "Because I'm your twin and I know you."

Fred glowered at his brother, "No I mean, am I doing something that hints at that? Or do I act strangely around her that's painfully obvious?"

"What's this? You're owning up to it then?" George was surprised that Fred would tackle this head on when only a few weeks ago he was denying the fact with a chorus of laughter to back him up.

"No… don't know… not really? I just don't want to make her uncomfortable or something…" Fred ran his hand nervously through his copper hair, "Blood hell, why did you have to bring this to my attention George. I was blissfully ignorant before; utterly happy to get to know a friend better and look after my future niece, but now I feel like a bumbling idiot."

George looked over his twin and tried not to smile. He knew that this situation wasn't ideal, but it's not like it was forbidden, "Can I ask why you're so concerned?"

Fred shot his mirror image a shocked glare, "Well… It's Hermione. She's been our friend for ages. She's part of the Golden Trio, she saved our world… Oh and she was supposed to marry our little brother and she's carrying his child."

"I understand that Freddie; I think the whole world understands that," George sighed as he mixed some cream into his coffee. "So can I ask you some questions?"

"Sure, why not…" Fred wasn't sure where his brother was going with this train of thought, but he knew that George was _always_ on his side no matter the situation.

"Do you care about her?"

"Of course I do," Fred's expression became even more puzzled as he added the single super and minimal milk to one of the teas.

"Why?" George sipped his coffee and added a few more drops of creamer.

Fred flipped the questions around in his mind, trying to take the questions as seriously as possible since it was George asking, "Well, she's my friend. She's a good person. And she is making us uncles in a few months' time."

"Ok, so not because she's famous?" George chuckled lightly.

"Of course not!"

George laughed heartily at the expression his twin wore, "And what do you think are her best qualities?"

Fred rolled his eyes, "Why does this matter, Georgie?"

"Just answer the question, I'll make my point in due time."

"Well she's brilliant, she's kind, beautiful and doesn't take shite from anyone," Fred felt warmth flood his face as he truthfully admitted this out load for the first time.

"Alright, good. Those are all normal, even _valiant_ reasons for liking a person. And I know that you're a good and decent person too Freddie, so you shouldn't be ashamed of feeling this way about someone," George started calmly as they slowly began the tract back to the shop.

"She's not just _anyone_ …"

"I know Fred. And now starts the part you really need to take into consideration. You need to figure out if you can handle all the issues that will come up if you pursue this," George looked at his brother with sadness in his eyes. He knew that Fred genuinely liked Hermione, but that didn't mean that the rest of the world would see that.

"Issues?"

George nodded his head, "It's not exactly the best situation Freddie. Like you said, it's Hermione. First off, she could simply not return your feelings and that would be the end of it."

Fred looked a bit dejected, "That would probably be easiest, wouldn't it?"

"Unfortunately yes; much simpler," George stopped and turned his full attention to his twin; he wanted to see what Fred's reaction would be to the next statement. "But I don't think that's the case here."

Fred's eyes got a little wider and his eyebrows knit together as he processed his brother's words, "…wait, you think…"

George didn't answer, smirked and continued to walk toward the storefront. "But there are other issues to consider now. She's the savior of our world, Ron's widowed fiancé, mother of our niece; people aren't going to have a lot of nice things to say about you. People will say you're disgusting or unbalanced for going after our brother's girl; they'll say she's trying to replace Ron or find some way to profit off our success."

He knew the words might sting, but George wanted to make sure Fred realized what kind of situation he would be getting himself and Hermione into if this developed into anything.

"I don't think I could subject her to all that…" Fred looked through the front windows of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Flora had her head peeking through the back curtains again, presumably gossiping with Hermione. Their employee pulled back to address a question from Kavlin and revealed a giggling Hermione seated in front of one of the cauldrons in the back room, "… She doesn't need something this complicated, does she?"

There was an extended pause as both twins took in the sight of a happy Hermione.

George shrugged, "For what it's worth, I don't think it's either of our places to decide what Hermione Granger is capable of handling."

* * *

 _Hope you all liked it! I wanted to make sure that Fred and George had a moment. They are twins after all and I feel like they would always have each others backs. And I also felt like Fred needed to know he had an ally no matter what happened._

 _Let me know what you all think about it!_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	12. Guilt and Embarrassment

_Hello! Hope everyone is having a great day!_

 _Can't thank you all enough for the love and support for this little fic. You are all simply amazing and I couldn't keep going without you. Thank you to all the Follower and Favorite-ers over the past week. And extra thank yous to the Reviewers; pianomouse, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, dianaanne, WildestDreams72394, Guest, and MRSDARRENCRISS589._

 _Please enjoy 12..._

* * *

Chapter 12 – Guilt and Embarrassment

Hermione's eyes slowly fluttered open as she heard quiet cries and hiccups echoing through the magical baby monitor on her bedside table. She rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes and began to swing her legs over the edge of the bed.

"It's alright; I'll get her. You haven't slept well in days 'Mione."

The redheaded figure next to her reached over and kissed her temple before pulling himself from the bed and stumbling through the door to get to Elizabeth's room.

It was true. Hermione felt like she hadn't had a good night's rest in weeks, actually. She knew that babies weren't all sunshine, smiles and adorable miniature clothing; but she wasn't sure if it was supposed to feel this difficult.

Hermione closed her eyes again and smiled sleepily as she overheard the conversation going on in the nursery.

"What is it, my Lizzy. What's wrong, Love?"

There was a gentle rustling sound and the little baby stopped crying; Hermione assumed that meant that Elizabeth had been picked up and was now enjoying the feeling of being held and cradled.

"I know you can't be hungry Lizzy. Mummy just fed you an hour ago."

The baby whined and let out a tiny yawn that Hermione barely heard over the monitor.

"Oh, goodness. See… that's why you need to sleep, little one. That way you won't be tired. You'll feel all awake and alert if you get some real rest, I promise. And then Mummy and I can have enough energy to play with you; because if _you_ sleep, _we_ can sleep."

Elizabeth made a gurgling sound in response and yawned again.

"So, can we try this again, Lizzy?"

There was another rustling sound over the monitor as Elizabeth was laid back into her crib. The little baby made no protest, and yawned again as her little quidditch mobile was wound up and began to play a soft melody.

Hermione heard shuffling footsteps enter the bedroom and the mattress shifted slightly under the added weight. The sleepy smile was still on Hermione's lips as she rolled over and easily fit into the spot right between the man's shoulder and neck. She wrapped her free arm over his taught, bare chest as he encircled her with his long arms.

The man brushed his lips over Hermione's forehead as she began to open her eyes again, "Thank you for taking such good care of Elizabeth. You know you don't have to."

"Don't be ridiculous, Hermione. I love her like my own. And I love you. So if I can help you get even just a few minutes extra sleep, I will definitely do whatever task that needs tending to."

Hermione felt her chin being tilted up by slightly calloused fingers. She smiled brightly; in spite of her exhaustion, her heart fluttered at the thought of what was coming next.

"I love you too, Fred."

Hermione's eye's focused momentarily on the beautiful dark blue irises of Fred Weasley, before she closed her eyes again and felt the tender caress of his lips on hers…

* * *

Hermione's eyes shot open and she yelped as her bedroom came back into focus.

She looked around the room, expecting to see parallels from her dream. Her bedside table was empty other than her vine wood wand, the magical baby monitor was still in its box by the closet door and the spot next to her on her full sized bed was vacant and showed no sign of another occupant.

Oh... and she was still very pregnant.

Hermione almost jumped out of her skin at the rapid knocking on her bedroom door; which was closed tightly.

"…y… Yes?" Hermione managed to choke the word out without sounding too frazzled.

"Are you alright Hermione?" Fred's voice came through the door a bit muffled. He was terrified that she had another nightmare and his voice easily revealed his concern.

"I'm… I'm fine Fred. I'm so sorry I woke you. Just a… strange dream… scared me a bit," Hermione's brain felt like it was in overdrive. Her thoughts whirled around frantically and she was unable to focus on anything but the dream that she had just exited.

"Do you need anything?" Fred yawned as he propped his head on Hermione's door with a soft thud.

"…need anything… I guess I could use some water… yes, water would be a good idea," Hermione rocked a little as she pulled herself up from the bed and quickly grabbed her over-sized cardigan to ward off the chilly winter bite.

Hermione opened the door of her room and Fred almost fell into her arms.

"Bloody… Merlin, I'm so sorry Hermione. Just exhausted from work… I think... I actually fell asleep on your door…" Fred offered her one of his cheeky smirks and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. The December rush had begun. The closer it got to Christmas, the more hectic the store seemed and the less sleep that Fred and George seemed to get, "If you're alright, I think I should be getting back to bed."

"Again… I'm _so_ sorry Fred," Hermione tried to give Fred a kind smile, but she felt nervous and exposed… even though Fred was the one not wearing a shirt. She found it difficult to divert her eyes, and that made her even more uncomfortable, "Um, aren't you a bit cold with just pants, Fred?"

The redhead quickly looked down at his crumpled slacks and bare chest, "Oh, I guess I was too tired to change. I honestly don't even remember coming up from the shop last night." Fred chuckled and stretched out his chest and arms as he succumbed to a huge yawn.

Hermione ducked her head and forced her eyes to the floor.

Fred noted her reaction with confusion; but he was too tired to string any cognitive thoughts together. "You sure you're alright, Hermione?"

She nodded her head and smiled as best she could with a strange tight feeling around her chest, "I'm fine; I promise. Get to bed before you fall asleep standing upright again."

"Right; very good plan. That's why they call you brilliant," Fred's goofy grin was intoxicating and Hermione caught herself staring at his lips. He mumbled goodnight to the witch before staggering back to his own room and collapsing onto his mattress again.

 _Merlin help me… these hormones are going to drive me mad…_

* * *

Hermione was unable to fall asleep again that night. She wasn't sure if it was because of the strange, vivid dream or the fact the Elizabeth was continuously moving around in her abdomen.

Since it was finally Winter Holiday for the Hogwarts students, Hermione decided to floo to the Burrow to catch up with Ginny that morning. And the fact that she left before Fred had to wake up for work was simply a coincidence…

It was very early in the morning, so Hermione was extremely surprised to see Ginny already up and about. The redheaded witch was begrudgingly helping her mother clean and prepare the house for the holiday season.

"Hello?" Hermione called quietly as she gripped the door frame of the kitchen for balance. Flooing was completely awful and gave her flashbacks to the terrible morning sickness that she had experienced. But the floo was safer then apperating; there had been a pamphlet at St. Mungo's that went over the horrifying possibilities of splinching a baby…

"Good morning, dear!" Mrs. Weasley's face broke into a huge welcoming smile and she gingerly wrapped Hermione in a warm hug. "Have you eaten yet? Can I make you something? What are you liking now a days? Are you allowed to drink tea still?"

Hermione shook her head lightly and returned the smile, "I'm not hungry right now, thank you Molly. But tea sounds lovely."

Mrs. Weasley made herself busy with the kettle; flicking her wand to order the teapot into motion. She flicked her wand again to retrieve the assortment of tea bags from the top shelf of the pantry.

Ginny's grin reached from ear to ear, "Oh, thank Merlin you're here. You can save me…" Hermione could barely hear the younger witch as she mumbled her thanks about the unexpected visit. The redhead's grin faltered though as she took in the dark circles and sagging shoulders of her best friend, "Hermione… are you alright?" Ginny made sure to speak quietly so that her mother would not overhear.

"I'm fine… I think. I just didn't sleep very well last night," Hermione tried to look and sound convincing, but she knew that it was an utter failure when Ginny narrowed her eyes and cocked her head slightly.

"Mum, we're going to walk around the garden. Hermione needs to move around a bit if you expect her to sit down to tea with us," Ginny went to the hall closet and pulled a thick wool coat and a set of gloves out for herself.

"Ginevra Weasley, that's ridiculous. It's freezing out there; and it's supposed to snow today! This is _not_ the kind of weather to be taking a pregnant girl out into," Mrs. Weasley was completely beside herself at the idea of the two girls going outside.

"Well, it's a good thing that we're both witches then. And I know for a fact that Hermione is very good at warming charms. She's probably the only reason the lot of us didn't catch cold during the winter quidditch games at Hogwarts," Ginny didn't even bother to wait for a response from her mother. She laced Hermione's arm through her own elbow and lead them outside into the frigid air.

Ginny shivered at the initial shock from the cold and Hermione quickly muttered the warming charm over the both of them, "Alright, Granger; out with it."

"Out with what, Gin?" Hermione chuckled nervously knowing that Ginny wouldn't be fooled by her feigned innocence. But she knew that there was no way to tell her friend the truth of what was wrong. The embarrassment alone might kill her; not to mention the guilt.

Ginny didn't even bother auguring; she just glared at Hermione and waited for the brunette witch to cave in.

Hermione rolled her eyes and made come calculated edits before beginning her explanation, "I had a very strange dream last night, that's all. I couldn't get back to sleep afterwards."

The redhead raised an eyebrow, "And you're sure that's it?"

Hermione nodded her head and forced a grin on her face, "Yes, that's all. It was just… it felt very real, so it was… startling."

"Well vivid and overactive dreams are supposedly very common during pregnancy. Did you dream about anything interesting?" Ginny hadn't meant anything by the question; she had just wanted to catch up with her friend. But when she saw the color flood Hermione's cheeks, Ginny became _particularly_ interested in finding out what the dreams had been about.

Then a sad thought crossed Ginny's mind, "Was it a dream about Ron?" Her whole body filled with concern.

"No," Hermione frowned still trying to grapple with who _had_ been in the dream with her.

Ginny pulled on Hermione's arm and brought them to a standstill under one of the huge oak trees around the Burrow. "It's alright if it wasn't Ron, you know. He's… he's been gone for almost eight months now, and I'm so proud of the progress you've made to move forward. He would be proud of you too. Ron, selfish as he could be at times, would have wanted you to move on."

"I know. But like you said; it's been eight months… _only_ eight months," Hermione sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around her extended belly. "I will always love Ron. I still wake up sometimes with that fleeting feeling of possibility… that maybe _his_ _death_ was the horrible nightmare, not me being left behind as a single parent at nineteen."

"I'm sure it feels that way sometimes, Hermione… but this isn't a nightmare." Ginny smiled sadly and placed a hand over Hermione's stomach, "This little girl is a very unexpected _gift_ ; a way for us to always have a piece of Ron. And don't every think that you're alone in this. You have your family and ours standing ready behind you."

Hermione nodded her head. She was comforted by Ginny's words and thankful that there didn't seem to be any tears to cry.

Ginny reached for Hermione's hand and began the tract around the garden again. She tried to lighten the mood by bringing back the previous subject of dreams, "So who have you been dreaming about? Was it that _really_ handsome muggle actor we saw in the film over summer holiday? Or the quidditch player you _actually_ remembered the name of while we were owling last month?"

A nervous smile took over Hermione's face as she tried to figure out a way to not relieve the identity of her dream man. She decided a version of the truth was the only thing that Ginny would believe and it could possibly placate her for at least a short time while Hermione figured out what it all meant…

… Or even if it meant anything in the first place.

"Well, it's quite embarrassing, because it's someone that you know. I feel completely mental right now because of it, so I'd rather not say. I don't need you all poking fun at me simply because my hormones have wreaked havoc on my brain," Hermione pulled the collar of her coat up a bit to try to hide her face.

Ginny chuckled, "Oh all right, I'll let you keep your secret… for now at least. But please think about what I said. It's alright to keep moving forward; it's what Ron would have wanted. And as long as it's not Harry, I think I can support whatever bloke you've picked out."

"Merlin, Ginny… Really?!" Hermione stopped walking and covered her bright red face with both her hands. Ginny was laughing almost maniacally. "First of all, Harry is basically my brother; so no, it wasn't Harry. Secondly, I need to get over the _guilt_ that I'm feeling _anything_ toward another person. And thirdly, I'm fairly certain you wouldn't…" Hermione stopped herself from continuing, fearing that she might give too much away.

The redheaded witch silently stepped next to Hermione and wrapped her arms around the brunette as best she could.

They stood like that for a few minutes while Hermione just breathed deeply and accepted Ginny's comforting embrace.

"You know I'm only joking to try to make this whole situation easier. But I did mean it when I said that I would support whatever you decide; bloke or no bloke. I just want you to be happy Hermione," Ginny put her witty banter and mischievous smirk aside; she wore a small genuine smile that she hoped Hermione would understand was meant as encouraging.

"Thanks, Gin."

The two witches finally broke their embrace and headed back to the warmth of the burrow to chat with Mrs. Weasley about holiday plans and sip on piping hot tea.

* * *

 _So what did you all think about that dream?!_

 _See you all next week!_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review**!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	13. Christmas Eve

_Hey there! Hope everyone is having a great day so far._

 _Thank yous all around to the Followers and Favorite-ers this past week; you guys rock! And my amazing reviewers:pianomouse, jillcovey, pottermum, MissesE, arabellagrace, Guest, xxFallenVampirexx, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; thank you! I couldn't keep going without your kind words. =)  
_

 _Guest - Happy B-day! Hope you have a great one!_

 _Everyone - glad you all liked the dream, sorry for the fake out but I wanted Hermione's conscious to get her thinking a bit..._

 _Chapter 13 on the 13th, enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 13 – Christmas Eve

"That's it! That's the last customer!" George called out with a relieved sigh.

"We survived another holiday rush, Georgie. Never would have thought it possible!" Fred added sarcastically as he locked the door to the store and turned the sign to 'closed.'

It was eight o'clock on Christmas Eve. They had fully intended to close at six-thirty, but customers had continued to flow in, desperately looking for fun gifts for loved ones. It had been difficult to turn them away.

Fred and George had dismissed Flora and Kalvin a little before seven, to make sure that they could at least return to their own families for Christmas Eve dinner; but the twins were now late for their own dinner at the Burrow.

They quickly waved their wands to straighten the shelves and set the brooms to sweep the floors automatically while they were gone.

The twins both hurried upstairs to Fred's apartment and threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and stepped through the flickering green flames.

"Hello! Happy Christmas!" George called out to the empty sitting room.

As they made their way toward the kitchen, the collective chatter grew steadily louder.

"Fred! George! We were afraid that the Christmas rush had buried you both alive," Bill stood up from his seat which was closest to the door, and embraced his twin brothers happily. "Come on, sit down. Mum's saved you food of course. And she refused to allow desert to be passed around until you two finally showed up. She wouldn't even give any to Hermione."

The witch in question blushed slightly, "Oh hush, Bill. I only asked what deserts Molly had made. I didn't actually ask for anything; and she didn't refuse."

Fred and George quickly made the rounds of the table and greeted everyone with a quick hug or warm handshake. They sat down and tucked into the food that was laid out in front of their usual places and intently listened to the conversation around them.

George cheerfully whispered with Angelina and they seemed to retreat into their own little world. Fred leaned over, happy to have Hermione seated next to him, especially since everyone else at the table appeared to be paired off already, "Did we miss anything interesting?"

Hermione shrugged and shook her head, "Oh, you know… just the _usual_ ; some pressure thrown at Bill and Fluer over babies, a little wedding talk from Angie, Ginny complaining about N.E.W.T.'s, Percy and Charlie arguing about some new dragon regulation that the Ministry just put into place..."

"And you've stayed out of the conversations somehow?" Fred narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the brunette witch as he took another bite of food.

"Oh, of course not; but you were late, so I'm not obligated to tell you." Hermione smirked as she took a sip of her tea. Fred chuckled as he continued to eat.

Hermione had successfully pushed the vivid dream that she had of Fred from her mind. It had been difficult, but she had done it all the same. She had forced herself to evaluate how she felt about the twin and had come to a very reasonable conclusion.

She loved him.

Honestly, of course she _loved_ Fred. He was kind, caring, brilliant and a very good friend to her. Her hormones were simply working chaotically around her and causing her to have phantom feelings of fancy toward the closest available person she was attracted to. It was _completely_ understandable. And Hermione was not going to allow her confused hormones to dictate who she was comfortable being around; so she had simply compartmentalized her ridiculous feelings for Fred and packed them away assuming that they would dissipated on their own.

Fred, for his own sanity, had also tried to force down his growing feelings toward Hermione. At times he felt like that seventeen year old who had fancied the young bookworm of Gryffindor; glancing at her out of his peripheral, making huge efforts to make her smile even in the darkest of times, and feeling that small tug at the bottom of his gut when she touched his arm or hugged him. But he had worked tirelessly to push the feelings aside and function normally around Hermione so that she was blissfully unaware that he liked her in that way.

The only problem now was that fact that several of their closest friends were beginning to take notice.

George, of course, already knew what was going though Fred's head and he had his theories about Hermione. Angelina had known about the seemingly unnoticed feelings between the two before George had even spilled the beans to her. But now, even Harry was beginning to catch onto the fleeting glances and quietly shared smiles between Fred and Hermione. Ginny had mentioned to Harry that Hermione was beginning to have feelings for someone, and made sure to stress that the pregnant witch felt embarrassed and ashamed of her quick feelings. So Harry really had no idea of how to broach the subject with his best friend.

Harry did however enjoy seeing Hermione smile and laugh again. It felt like ages had passed since he had seen the brunette witch so happy. And Harry liked Fred enough that he had no objection to the idea of them getting together… if the two ever figured out about the others feelings that is.

* * *

"Do you think they realize?" Ginny stood behind Harry and his chair, with her arms draped around his shoulders and her head leaning down to his ear.

"Hmm? Who are we talking about?" Harry reached a hand up and smoothed small circles on Ginny's arm. He turned slightly and kissed her cheek; he had missed Ginny terribly while she was at Hogwarts finishing up her last year.

"Fred and Hermione," Ginny smiled as she quietly spoke. She loved the quiet attention that Harry gave her even in the loud chaotic room filled with her family, "Do you think they _know_ they fancy each other?"

"I… I don't think so," Harry glanced at his friend and Ginny's older brother. They had their heads together and they were talking and laughing in between interactions with the Weasley's around them. "Are you alright with the idea of them possibly… together?"

Ginny sat down on the bench again, and swung her legs over Harry's lap, "I wasn't _at first_. To be perfectly honest… I thought the whole thing was completely mad. But after I thought about it for a while, I remembered some interactions that they had before, during school. I think Hermione liked him at one point during your sixth year and I recalled George teasing Freddie about Hermione once or twice during the reign of Umbridge. So… I don't know… it doesn't seem like they're simply gravitating toward each other out of convenience or necessity. I think something might have _always_ been there; but they're only now discovering it."

Harry nodded his head, "Seems very logical and observant." He poked at Ginny's side, "When did you become so well-versed in relationships?" A goofy grin pulled at his lips.

"Oh please, Harry Potter. I have perfectly functioning eyes… and I do have a bit of experience with relationships myself, especially since I've been after you for ages." She stuck her tongue out at the black haired boy next to her.

Harry chuckled and laced their fingers together, "Yea… well I'm lucky you didn't give up on me. I was a lost cause on more than one occasion."

A small smile graced Ginny lips, "Let's just hope that those two don't take as long to figure things out as you did." She smirked playfully at Harry before she laid her head on his shoulder and rejoined the conversation being thrown around the table.

* * *

After dinner and desert everyone retired to the sitting room.

Ginny and Harry convinced Hermione, Fred and George to play a few rounds of exploding snap with them, while Angelina and Fleur discussed magical wedding traditions and the rest of the family seemed to be discussing things among themselves. Fred jokingly shielded Hermione whenever she got close to setting off an explosion. She cursed the twin playfully and once was able to force the cards to explode on his turn to retaliate. They were both completely oblivious to the glances and shocked expressions from the other occupants of the room. George tried to play along and offer cover for his unobservant twin, but he caught a searching look from his mother and gulped down when she motioned that she needed to speak to him later.

When the game was finished, Hermione yawned repeatedly as she waddled around the room and wished everyone goodnight and goodbye until tomorrow. She was going to her parents' house for Christmas morning, but would be coming by the Burrow right after lunch. Fred offered to Floo with her; Hermione had filed for a temporary fireplace connection for the holiday season.

But Molly asked if it would be possible for Harry to go with Hermione instead, because she needed to speak with the twins for a moment about the shop… supposedly. Harry wore an anxious expression as he held out the floo powder to Hermione and left Ginny with a quick kiss and a muttered, "I'll be back as fast as I can. Don't let Fred say anything stupid."

Ginny grimaced as Harry disappeared in a whirl of green fire.

"Fred Gideon Weasley, explain yourself at once!" Molly's voice boomed through the sitting room as soon as Harry was out of sight. Ginny stepped right in front of Fred, and George stood a short distance behind him; in case Fred needed a calming grip. Everyone else quickly vacated the room and ascended the stairs to their designated rooms, not wanting to witness Fred's impending demise at the hands of his mother.

To George, Ginny and Molly's surprise, Fred laughed.

"What are you on about, Mum?"

Mrs. Weasley's resolve faltered momentarily at Fred's feigned innocence, but when Molly saw Ginny's confused face she knew that her original hypothesis must be correct, "What in Merlin's name are you doing with Hermione?!"

Fred's face immediately shifted into defensive outrage. "I'm not doing anything! What on earth are you insinuating?"

"Mum," George tried to draw Molly's attention away from his brother, "Fred isn't _trying_ to do anything, I swear to it."

"What does that _mean_ , George?" Molly narrowed her eyes at her other twin son as she attempted to decipher the vague comment.

Mrs. Weasley's face had grown very red from frustration with the lack of information she was receiving; and Fred looked almost as bad off being accused of doing something horrible to Hermione.

"Oh, sod it; this is ridiculous!" Ginny rounded on her brother, "Look here Freddie, we _all_ know. Anyone with eyes could see you both at dinner; it's completely absurd that this is your ideas of holding back or hiding your feelings away. You're _both_ so obvious it's become painful to watch…"

Fred's harsh expression immediately fell away and Ginny realized what she had revealed, "Bloody hell…"

"Ginny?" Harry had just flooed back into the sitting room unnoticed because of the screaming match that was being conducted between the few Weasley's left in the room.

The young redheaded witch paled as her words sunk into everyone who stood around her, "I… I didn't… she doesn't…" Ginny turned back to Fred and swallowed hard.

Fred tried to hide the small smirk of hope that was pulling at the left side of his mouth, "You better explain Gin, before Mum or decided to pull it out of you by force." He had given little weight to George's thoughts about Hermione feelings; but their previous conversation was coming roaring back to him now as he looked hopefully upon his little sister… the little sister who just happened to be good friends with the witch in question.

"I… I can't…" Ginny's usual loud and determined voice came out small and airy.

Harry walked up beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "It's alright Gin; someone was bound to bring it to their attention soon anyway."

Ginny nervously gripped her hair and faced her mother. Molly seemed to have calmed down a bit, but she still appeared extremely confused, "Ginny dear, could you please tell us all what's going on?"

George also gave her a nod of encouragement as Ginny turned to him for quick council.

"Yea… alright…" Ginny took a heaving breathe and wrapped her arms around her own abdomen to steady herself. "Well Fred and Hermione fancy each other, as was very evident tonight. But they seem to both have this asinine notion that the other person doesn't reciprocate, so they're trying to conceal their feelings. Hermione thinks it's too soon for her to be feeling anything for anyone; and Fred thinks it's wrong to have any feelings for Hermione at all."

"She… Hermione… she fancies me?" Fred wore a shocked expression that bordered on complete disbelief.

Ginny, nodded her head, "She doesn't recognize it yet, but she does. Hermione's blaming it all on her hormones."

"And you're... sure of this, Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I'd bet money on it if I had any to spare," Ginny pressed herself closer to Harry's side; wishing that he had the invisibility cloak handy.

Molly looked over Fred with a calculated eye; she wasn't sure what to make of this new revelation between this son of hers and the almost daughter-in-law from another of her sons. Oh, Ronald… Mrs. Weasley knew that Ron would have wanted his family to be taken care of, for Hermione and his daughter to be loved and looked after. _But would he have been alright with this?_

Mrs. Weasley puffed out her chest and shot a pointed glare, "What are your intentions Fred Weasley?"

Everyone in the room, including Fred, snorted loudly.

"What?" Fred managed to choke out between snickers.

"What are your intentions with Hermione, Fred? Don't make me ask you a third time."

Fred stared blankly at his mother trying to puzzle together what was happening, "You do realize that you're _my_ _mother_ , not hers. This line of questioning is usually reserved for the opposite family…"

"Fred Weasley, you answer the question or I will curse your eyebrows off! I don't care if tomorrow is Christmas." Molly raised her wand and brandished the slender piece of wood in front of her son's face.

"I… I don't know." Fred answered truthfully, but quickly elaborated as his mother's expression intensified, "I care for her... I would _never_ hurt her. I think I've fancied her for a long while now… just didn't let it register in my head much because of _everything_ …"

"You _think_? So you're _not_ _positive_?" Molly was growing more impatient by the second, "Well you better bloody well figure out what your purpose is before you do anything. I will not allow you to chase off the mother of Ron's child because you weren't sure of your own intentions. That girl has been through hell and back; I will not allow you to play with her feelings. You are either in it for the long haul, or don't even step foot near her. Do you understand me Fred?"

A shadow had fallen across Fred's face as his mother spoke. He had hypothetically considered Hermione's feelings, the ramifications from the media and outside pressures… he had even considered some of his family's reactions, but he had overlooked this startling issue.

If they did start something and it ended; _what then_?

It wasn't just Hermione that Fred had to worry about; there was Elizabeth.

Fred wasn't sure if he could bear the thought of hurting that baby.

He hung his head and nodded to his mother, "I understand."

There was a lot more for Fred to mull over and evaluate...

* * *

 _Really hope you all liked that one. I wanted show off how some of the family felt about this possible relationship, but I also wanted Molly to be the one to point out to Fred that there are way more then just a few landmines in the way._

 _Also, hope you all liked the little bit of fluff between Harry and Ginny. I really do love them together._

 _See you all next week!_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review**!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back,' 'Life as Demigods' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	14. Christmas

_Hello all! Sorry I'm a day late, but I fell behind in my editing... SO Sorry!  
_

 _Thank you to everyone to Followed, Favorited and Review this past week: jillcovey, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, MissesE, and LUNA GURLZ; you all give me very warm fuzzy feelings. Thank you so much for the extra love and reviewing!_

 _I'm having a hard time believing how close this story is to 100 follower and 50 reviews... just Wow. You all are amzing and I'm so appreciative of anyone who has taken an interest in this story._

 _Thank you and enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 14 – Christmas

Fred sat at the kitchen table staring at the unopened bottle of Dragon Scale. He didn't like drinking alone, but after today… he might need the drink.

* * *

 _Christmas day had passed in the blink of an eye; as it usually did. Everyone who had stayed the night at the Burrow had squeezed into the sitting room; the overflow seated themselves on the lower few stairs, and they had opened gifts all together. It had been a chaotic hurricane of shiny crinkled paper, boisterous laughter and shocked delight. When Hermione arrived around lunch, there was a slight tension that laced the air. But Ginny and Harry made huge efforts to distract the pregnant witch and they succeeded in keeping Hermione busy enough that she didn't notice the strain._

 _While most of the Weasley's went about helping with dinner preparations or making their plans to visit the families of their significant others; Hermione sat at the kitchen table with Fred, George, Angelina, Harry and Ginny, while she happily opened her gifts. It was mostly baby items with a few books mixed in. Fred had gotten her_ _The Golden Book of Fairy Tales_ _, which Hermione had been enchanted by at the muggle bookstore that they had encounters a few months back. She couldn't believe that Fred had remembered._

 _She smiled broadly at the redhead and squeezed his hand with appreciation, "Thank you so much Fred. I guess I'm glad you stopped me from blasting the place out of existence." They had laughed quietly at their personal joke and Hermione motioned for him to open his gift from her._

 _Fred's jaw dropped._

 _He pulled a gold pocket watch out of the little box and simply stared at it._

" _Now don't be cross; it isn't an expensive one or anything. I found it at an antique shop while I was out with my mum last month and I thought it was lovely. And I may have charmed it so you'll never have to wind it," Hermione smiled; proud of her small act of rebellion on augmenting a muggle item._

 _The etching around the edge of the watch's face and all around the front of the Hunter-case pocket watch were so detailed, Fred got a bit lost tracing the patterns with his eyes, "It's wonderful, Hermione. Thank you."_

 _Without thinking, Fred leaned forward and kissed the side of Hermione's forehead. She laughed a little, believing the gesture to be just one of the twin's silly antics, "I guess it's safe to assume you like it then?"_

* * *

The watch was now tucked back into the box that Hermione had used to wrap the gift. Fred glanced at it again as he nervously peeling the label of the beer bottle back.

* * *

" _What were you thinking, Fred?" Percy's whisper had an irate edge to it, "Mum told you to sort out your feeling before you did anything, and what did you do instead? … you went and kissed her?!"_

" _Oh, shut it Percy. It was a bloody kiss on the forehead. You're the only one who cares!" George waved his hands around wildly trying to articulate his point further, "It's not like he sat there and snogged her in the middle of the kitchen. And he already feels terrible enough, he doesn't need you and Mum attacking him on all fronts about this."_

 _Harry and Ginny had again taken the responsibility of keeping Hermione away from the judgment and commotion. They had bundled themselves and taken Hermione outside to show her the bench swing that they had just put up for her and the baby._

* * *

Fred was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Charlie as he sat down next to his younger brother and popped the top off of the Dragon Scale. He waved his wand over the bottle so that the drink was ice cold again. The older Weasley removed the bottle cap on his own bottle as well, and took a long gulp of the beer.

"Bit of a rough holiday this year," Charlie stated as he cradled his bottle and tried to coax the younger of the twins to speak to him. "You should drink that before it gets warm again. Tastes even more like dragon piss when it's warm."

Fred snorted, "And I'm betting you have some experience with that, don't you Charlie?"

The older Weasley brother just smirked and took another mouthful of the ale, "They're all wrong you know."

"Wrong about what, dragon tamer?" Fred took a long swig of the Dragon Scale and felt it drop like a heavy weight into his stomach.

"This thing with Hermione; you can't figure it out on your own. How the bloody hell will you know _exactly_ how you feel if you aren't sure where _she_ stands on the subject?" Charlie leaned on the table and turned to face Fred directly, "Everyone here seems to have this opinion that Hermione can't handle this information. But the witch that I've come to know would be ashamed, and honestly a bit irritated, if she found out that people were keeping these kinds of things from her and making decision on her behave. Hermione was, and _still is_ , the most brilliant witch I know. She helped defeat Voldemort, obliviated her own parents to protect them, survived the death of her fiancé… and _we_ have the audacity to think that she can't handle the fact that you fancy her?"

Charlie chuckled at the completely puzzled expression on his brother's face, "I love you Freddie, but Hermione has dealt with and survived things _much_ worse than you."

Fred smirked, "And what of the others? I'm sure Mum has more than a few lectures already prepped and ready to go for me."

"And when has Mum's sermons bothered you… or even swayed your opinion in the slightest?"

"Well… when those lectures started to be about Hermione…" Fred felt the warmth spread all the way to his ears this time. He wasn't sure if it was from his confession or from him finishing the beer.

Charlie smiled as he shook his head, "You, my dear brother…" He laughed as he looked over Fred's embarrassed face again, "You've fallen much further than I would have expected."

* * *

 _Hermione sat on one of the couches of the empty sitting room. Most of the other Weasley's had left to spend time with their in-laws or in-laws to be. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had retired for the night and Harry and Ginny had sneaked away to enjoy some time to themselves. Charlie had disappeared into his old room, proclaiming the time change had gotten to him._

 _Fred had been alone in the kitchen going over some inventory and order sheets in preparation for New Years, when he had heard Hermione in the sitting room. He tip-toed to the door of the kitchen and pushed it open just a crack so that he could see Hermione's head over the top of the sofa._

 _She was reading her new fairy tale book out load to the baby, and she was making slightly different voices for each character. Hermione looked so happy; she seemed so content._

 _Fred grinned to himself, a bit proud that he had brought a more light into her life. He loved seeing her smile._

* * *

"Yea… it's much worse than _everyone_ expected actually; including myself," Fred stared at his empty bottle as if it had betrayed him.

"So what do you intend to do about all this?" Charlie stood up and wondered over to the small refrigerator that Arthur had augmented to run on magic, and found two more bottles of Dragon Scale.

Fred accepted the opened beer without hesitation and took another swallow as he rounded up his courage, "I know Hermione can handle anything the world throws at her; she proved that, a few times over, last year… but I don't know if I _want_ her to _deal_ with this."

Charlie sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, "What are you on about, Freddie?"

"I… I don't know…" Fred took a breath and closed his eyes. "Maybe I'm not as much of a Gryffindor as I'd like to believe. Maybe… maybe I'm terrified of what she'd say if I spoke to her about this. What if she just says 'no'… maybe I'm just a coward and I'm afraid of rejection." A small ball of fire began to form in Fred's stomach as his own words began to eat away at him, "Or maybe I'm horrified at the possibility of being compared to 'Lckle Ronniekins' for the rest of my life."

Anger was clearly visible in Fred's eyes, but it didn't faze Charlie in the slightest, "You and I both know that's bollocks."

Charlie casually took another sip of beer and waited patiently for Fred's retort.

"So what's your theory, _Charles_?"

"Pretty mild retort from one of the famed Weasley twins," Charlie didn't bother to hide his laughter as he watched Fred's face actually color a tinge darker red.

Fred took a breath to calm himself down, "I'm exhausted… so sue me."

"Well... You might have gotten away with that little speech if it were Percy or Mum sitting here; but unlucky for you… you got me." Charlie took away the bottles of unfinished beer and waved them to empty into the sink and throw themselves away. He then quickly heated some water and made two mugs of strong tea. "You and I both know that you really couldn't care less what others think of you; if it affects you at all, it simply eggs you on to prove the other person wrong. Your and Georges existence seems to predicated on you both wanting to make what other people perceive as impossible, possible. You two made an entire empire out of something Mum absolutely hated. So don't sit there and tell me that you're afraid of what people will say about you or how uncomfortable you are with being measured against Ron."

Fred didn't say a word; he just sat there and held his hands around the warm mug of tea.

Charlie sighed, "I think you're doing exactly what I said you _shouldn't_ do; I think you're protecting Hermione."

"… And what if I am?" Fred lifted his hard defiant gaze to meet Charlie's eyes.

The older Weasley shrugged, "I'd say that playing hero for Miss Granger is nonsensical… But if you feel so strongly about this that you're making up _shite_ about yourself… maybe playing hero for our Hermione isn't as absurd as I thought"

* * *

Fred arrived at the shop over two hours early. He had the broom sweep the floor as he straightened out the shelves with a flick of his wrist. He made sure that there was plenty of quid, sickles and knuts in the registers to make change. And he made a note for George to make more of the 'Peace Disturbers' and the 'Whack Trance Whammy Rocket' since they ran out of those first last year.

When George got into the store, he was shocked that there wasn't anything to do to prepare for opening, "What are you doing up so early on Boxing Day?" His laughter died in his throat as Fred's flat expression came into view. "Blood hell; who died?"

Fred tried to smirk, but his lips barely moved, "I'm leaving for a bit."

George furrowed his brow in confusion, "What? Where are you going?"

"Well the shops in New York City and the District of Colombia apparently had a rough time keeping up with the Christmas rush, so I thought I would head state side a bit early and help them get through the New Year's craziness. See what's needed for things to run smoother next year." Fred looked over the list of things that the American stores had sold out of and began making notations about how many were needed to restock.

"Did something happen yesterday after Angie and I had to leave?" George didn't understand why his twin was suddenly leaving. They had already discussed traveling a bit to the other stores to check on productivity after they rang in the New Year.

"Yes… I decided that I cannot risk perusing anything with Hermione, so I'm taking some time away to _sort myself out_. Charlie insists that I'm trying to play hero."

"Well Fred, how long are you going to be hiding away in America?" George felt his temper flare a bit.

"Just a week or two I hope; but I'll let you all know," Fred walked out from behind the counter holding a small duffle bag.

"You're _sure_ you want to do this?" George didn't want his brother to leave; he hated this idea. It was stupid and cowardly in his opinion.

"No; but I _have_ to." Fred embraced his twin and left for his designated apparition point.

* * *

 _Oh man... it hurt me to write that; but it had to be done! That's actually one of the reasons I began writing BAP... I needed a happier Fred/Hermione. =(_

 _Please let me know what you all thought, and see you all next week!_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review**!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; 'The Bookworm and The Prankster,' ' Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	15. Nonsensical

_Hello!_ _So yea... sorry, this week's updates got kind of messed up. I work with little kids and got pretty sick this weekend. Hope this chapter makes up for it!_

 _Thank yous to everyone who Followed, Favorited and Reviewed! MRSDARRENCRISS589, LUNA GURLZ, GinnyPotter6891, whiteand black157, jillcovey, thisisjustavoice, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, MissesE, and arabellagrace; thank you so much for the encouragement and comments. You guys are so amazing._

* * *

Chapter 15 – Nonsensical

Hermione sat in the kitchen of Gimmauld place and watched Ginny put the kettle on as Harry searched the pantry for the tea. She observed the easy way they interacted, a light touch at the elbow or at the small of the back, and the teasing banter exchanged in a very loving fashion. They fit so perfectly together, it was hard to imagine a time when Harry and Ginny weren't a couple.

The pregnant witch smiled to herself as she watched two of her closest friends, so in tune with one another that they almost danced around the kitchen. Hermione was happy for them of course, but she was a big enough person to admit that there was a tiny part of herself that was jealous of the relationship that these two were able to have now that the war was over.

"How are you taking your tea now a days, Hermione?" Ginny asked as she placed the steaming kettle atop the beautiful floral trivet on the kitchen island.

"Oh, um," Hermione actually had forgotten how she prepared her own tea. Fred had been making her tea for several months now and the whole process seemed to have completely slipped her mind, "I actually can't recall. I guess one sugar and a little milk, and I'll have to go from there." The witch shrugged her shoulders and tried to chuckle as she tried to blamed the lack of memory on baby brain.

The couple shared a knowing look as Ginny sat down next to Hermione with her own cup of tea. "Is everything alright? You've been very quiet today."

Hermione smiled and nodded as convincingly as possible. She couldn't muster a full toothy grin today, but she thought it was somewhat believable at least, "Fine, fine; just extremely tired recently. Can't seem to stay comfortable enough to sleep through the night in one go anymore. I think I woke up four times last night… maybe five. The apartment is also too quiet. I guess I got used to Fred's snoring from the next room."

Fred had been gone almost a week now. Hermione had sent several overseas owls, but she had only received one owl back so far. The Weasley twin in question had sent a New Year's card wishing her a happy, healthy year and apologizing for being too busy with the shops to write back more often.

Harry leaned on the counter behind him and held onto his cup of tea simply for the warmth. He had noticed a change in Hermione's demeanor since Fred had left for his business trip. George had told her about the issues their stores in America had been having, and how he would have gone also but Angie had needed him for wedding decisions. Hermione had accepted the explanation without much questioning. But Harry, with some encouragement from Ginny, had pried a little deeper and had been given the real reason for Fred's departure.

Harry very much wanted to punch Fred in the face… but not as much as Ginny had wanted to. The red-headed witch had stomped around Grimmauld place for the last few days fuming and refusing to go back to the Burrow because she blamed Percy and her mum for pushing Fred into the decision to run away. This hadn't gone over well with Mrs. Weasley, but Harry had not complained and almost rethought his own desire to flog Fred… _almost_.

"You're sure it's just sleep deprivation, 'Mione?" Harry asked very carefully.

"I think so, but thank you for the concern," Hermione smiled at her friend and focused on her tea again. She was still thinking about her empty apartment. "Have either of you heard from Fred? Do you know if he'll be back soon?"

Ginny quickly turned her head away from the pregnant witch as her eyes narrowed and her lips turned down. She had also been owling Fred, practically every day in fact, to try to get him to come home, "Um, no unfortunately; not a peep. George mentioned something about restructuring the other day though; sounded complicated and time consuming to me. He might be gone for a couple more weeks…"

"Oh, alright." Hermione paused and clicked her fingernails against her teacup, "It's just… the apartment… it's a bit lonely on my own. I thought having a roommate would help with that, but it's a bit difficult when said roommate up and disappears on you."

The silence in the kitchen became uncomfortable.

"Hermione… are you crying?" Ginny reached over and grabbed a napkin from the counter. She dabbed the other witch's cheek, and Hermione was shocked to see dark water splotches when the linen was pulled away from her face.

"What? Well that's _completely_ embarrassing; I'm not even sure _why_ I would be crying," Hermione took the napkin from Ginny and gently dried her eyes.

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Harry quickly cleared his throat and shook his head. Hermione wouldn't have noticed this if Ginny hadn't been glaring at the boy-who-lived and looking like she was going to punch something.

She looked between her two friends with concern, "What in Merlin's name did I miss?"

"Harry, we can't just sit here and…"

"No."

"Hermione needs to…"

"Absolutely not."

"But Harry, if she just knew…"

"It's not our place to tell."

Hermione's eyes bounced between the Boy-who-lived and the angry redhead and she began to feel like she was watching a tennis match. She clutched her head as a sharp pulsing began right on her hairline, "If someone doesn't explain what you two are talking about, there is a _very_ good chance I'll jinx you both. And my magic hasn't exactly been reliable the past week, so I would suggest just talking instead of taking a chance with me and my wand…"

Harry sighed in frustration. He didn't like keeping secrets from Hermione, but he didn't feel right being the one to tell her. Fred should be the one to tell her…. Harry was also a bit afraid of what her reaction would be.

Ginny, who was usually fearless no matter who was involved, scooted back in her seat slightly at Hermione's warning.

The pregnant witch took a deep breathe, "Please… Just tell me what's going on. I really cannot even fathom what you two are talking about. Did _I_ do something? Because I'm sorry if I did; Fred is supposed to be my warning system if I get too crazy, but he's been gone…"

"No, no; Hermione… you didn't do anything. Please don't worry about that," Ginny quickly negated that possibility.

"Alright then, what is it? What's happened?"

Ginny bit her lip and found that her eager words from before seemed stuck at the back of her throat. She looked to Harry, who was trying to figure out how he had gotten himself into this mixed up mess. Harry shook his head and smirked, "First off, everyone breathe." He put his mug of tea down and took a step toward the kitchen island, "Secondly; Hermione, you have to promise to not react to until Ginny and I are finished explaining. I know you like having all the information, so please wait until you have _everything_ before you allow yourself to speak and respond."

Hermione looked confused and very worried, but she agreed to the terms.

The words from before began to flow easily from Ginny now, "Do you remember when we spoke about that dream you had?"

Hermione nodded her head but stayed silent.

"And you remember about being very upset about the fact that you were dreaming about someone other than Ron. You expressed how guilty you felt and now absurd you thought the situation was."

Again, the pregnant witch nodded her head waiting for the grand epiphany that she had expected because of their serious approach to all this.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ginny fidgeted nervously.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to say anything until you were finished explaining…"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Fine, just nod or shake your head."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and chuckled; this was getting ridiculous.

"Was the man in your dream… was it Fred?"

Color flooded Hermione's face and she felt heat flash all the way up to her ears. She looked at Ginny and nodded her head curtly.

A small smile passed Ginny's lips. She looked at Harry who had simply been observing the exchange with tense interest. He nodded his head for Ginny to continue.

"Do you still feel embarrassed by that? Are you still afraid that it's wrong to have feeling for anyone else… for Fred?"

"I don't have feelings for Fred; it's just the hormones!"

Harry cleared his throat and smirked at Hermione, "You said you agreed to not respond until the end."

Hermione glared at the dark haired wizard and clamped her mouth shut again.

" _If_ you were having feeling for someone, would you still feel like it was inappropriate?"

There was a heartbeat of contemplation before Hermione slowly nodded her head.

"Well, that's why Fred left. He's also under the impression that his feelings are inappropriate; and that they need to be stifled. I mean, Mum and Percy basically told him that it was a horrible idea to like you and that it would put you into a difficult position… Honestly they went on and on about how he needed to figure out the full extent of his feelings before he even spoke to you about it, and of course that terrified him… it would terrify anyone really. And then there's the unfortunate issue of rumors and all the stupid tabloids…"

Ginny only stopped prattling when Harry walked around the island and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the confused face of his best friend and wasn't sure if Hermione had understood his girlfriend's tirade, "Hermione, Fred left because he fancies you; and he feels like he needs to protect you from all the horrible outcomes that could possibly come from that."

Still, the pregnant witch didn't seem to react to the new information. Hermione sat there on the bar stool with her eyebrows cinched together and her breathing exaggerated as she tried to keep herself calm, "Thank you for the translation Harry, but I have a bit more experience interpreting 'Ginny speak than you do."

Harry and his girlfriend shared a worried look, "Is there anything you'd like to say or scream? Do we need to leave you alone to process this?"

Hermione's breathing was deep but still felt strenuous; she felt a blinding pain travel down her left side, "I would _love_ to yell at you two, and Molly and Percy… and probably George and Angie and everyone for being completely _mad_. How dare any of you think that I cannot handle something like this?! I've dealt with things _ten times_ worse than this. When you mentioned Fred, I thought for a split second that he was _dying_ ; that he had some terminal illness or something. But then you said something about tabloids and I thought something a little less horrible but infinitely more embarrassing; I thought maybe someone had figured out my random hormone fueled pregnancy dreams and told Rita Skeeter!"

Another painful cramp pinched Hermione's side, "But unfortunately, I _can't_ scream at anyone right now. I can't even tell you two to go away and leave me alone."

"At the risk of sounding like a complete arse… why not?" Harry saw the agony on his friends face and went to grab her arm to offer some kind of support. Hermione slapped his arm away, but then thought better of it and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Because… because I need you to take me to St. Mungo's. I think… I think I'm in labor."

* * *

 _Sorry for the cliffy! Please don't kill me!  
_

 _Let me know what you all thought, and see you all next week!_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review**!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' The Bookworm and The Prankster,' 'Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	16. Crumbling

_Hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I am. I just realized that this story broke 100 followers... THANK YOU!_

 _Thank yous go out to all the Followers, Favorite-ers and Reviewers for last chapter. Death by Insanity, jillcovey, thisisjustavoice, Lunne Lunnaris, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, MissesE, LUNA GURLZ, and amrsdarrencriss589; sorry for the cliffy, please don't hate me!_

* * *

Chapter 16 - Crumbling

Hermione was furious.

Well furious… and a little embarrassed.

She was glad that she had at least not sent Harry and Ginny off to collect the families when they had first arrived at St. Mungo's; though that had only been because she was too afraid to be alone. Having everyone here would have been even more mortifying.

"Braxton Hicks contractions?" Hermione repeated the words back carefully to the Healer. She had read _something_ about them, but the definition was refusing to coming to the forefront of her mind at the moment.

Healer Kellin offered an encouraging smile and moved to help the very pregnant witch sit up, "They are sporadic muscle contractions that happen throughout most of your pregnancy. The closer you get to full term, the more possibility of feeling them. If you feel them, it's very easy to confuse the Braxton Hicks contractions with real contractions. It happens more often than you would think, so don't even worry about it."

"So, I am really not in labor," Hermione sighed deeply. She stood and moved over toward Ginny, who held out the heavy winter jacket that she had worn to the hospital.

"No, not yet." The healer shook her head and handed over the discharge papers to be signed, "I'm fairly certain that you will carry the baby full term Hermione; at least thirty-seven weeks if not thirty-eight."

"Is there something that I did to cause the 'false labor,' as you called it?" Hermione took Harry's offered arm and stood by the door as she waited for Healer Kellin to respond.

"No, no; of course not. You didn't do anything purposeful I'm sure. It's just something that happens. But I would advise staying away from stressful situations, if that is possible. Extreme stress may provoke your body into early labor if it's severe enough. And you might want to consider beginning your maternity leave a bit early if it happens again," The Healer walked the group of three back to the front desk of the pregnancy ward and bid them goodbye. She didn't even notice the stern glare that Hermione had been throwing at Ginny and Harry as soon as 'extreme stress' had been mentioned.

"So… stress can provoke… who would have known…" Harry chuckled nervously as the bell on the elevator dinged for every descending floor.

"Can we please go back to my apartment? I would very much like to speak with you lot and George. Immediately in fact."

* * *

The conversation had been long and unnecessary. Hermione realized half way through the argument with George and Ginny that she already knew everything they were telling her about Fred.

In the back of her mind, she had always known.

Moments with the tall redhead flooded her mind; the bookstore, the tube, her nightmare… All the signs had been right there in front of her the whole time.

She tried to not allow her emotions get the better of her. Hermione made sure that her voice remained even, though the sharp edge that it took seemed to be uncontrollable. And she really did attempted to understand why everyone had purposefully left her out of this conversation until now; but it was still very difficult to wrap her mind around.

"Fred really thinks he's protecting you somehow. He doesn't want you to deal with the backlash if someone caught wind that he fancies you. You know how much Skeeter loves writing dribble about you…" When George had been dragged up to his old apartment, he had flipped the closed sign on the front door of the shop and instructed everyone to take a late lunch. He was now regretting this decision, wishing that someone would come up to the apartment and request his help with something… _anything_.

Those words sunk into Hermione like a ton of bricks. Her chest tightened and she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to fight back the angry tears that were threatening to fall.

"When is he coming back?" she asked George without opening her eyes still. Hermione found that all she did now when looking at George was notice the subtle differencing in him and his twin, and those differences were making her more upset for hormonal, irrational reasons.

George stood and went to go find where the alcohol was hidden, "Um, well… he actually _is_ working over there. Fred's implementing all of the improvement ideas that we had discussed putting into place. He just decided to go do everything early and by himself."

"So when is he coming back, George?" Hermione finally opened her eyes and stared into his green tinged eyes. They looked so different from Fred's deep blue that it almost hurt. It felt like George's whole being was mocking her; they might be identical, but he _was not_ Fred.

The redheaded wizard poured himself a glass of the old firewhiskey that he found far in the back of the pantry. He took a long draw of the amber liquid, never breaking his eye contact with the pregnant witch. George pulled his shoulders back and prepared himself for the backlash, "The last owl he sent made it sound like he might not be coming home… at least not anytime soon."

"WHAT?!" Harry, Ginny and Hermione all spoke simultaneously in outrage.

George cleared his throat, "Yes, well… he said that the shops are doing better, but he wants to at least stay until the first quarter is finished... to see how the stores hold up." His gaze fell as he lost his will to continue retelling the contents of his twin's most recent owl. He took a deep breath and shifted his gaze to the kitchen counter, "He also mentioned that he's been trying to date recently..."

The silence that filled the apartment was deafening.

Hermione looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen and utilized some of her pregnancy breathing techniques, "I think I need to be alone. I'm sorry… I just… This is too much…"

The pregnant witch went into her bedroom without saying another word. She heard the distinctive whirlwind of the Floo taking people away from the apartment and the heavy click of the front door, indicating that George had gone back down to the shop.

* * *

Hermione laid down in bed on her side and placed a hand over her extended abdomen and closed her eyes.

She almost didn't hear the soft knock at her bedroom door.

Harry didn't wait for permission to enter the room. He came in and laid down in front of Hermione and waited for the witch to open her eyes.

"Hello," the Boy-who-lived offered her his hand and she moved her hand into his without a second thought.

"Hello."

"Somewhat of a rough day, today," Harry mused as he squeezed her hand.

Hermione nodded and turned her face more into her pillow.

"As bad as our days hiding out in the woods; cold, starving and trying to avoid snatchers?" Harry smirked slightly as he remembered the long spring, last year, that the two of them had spent wondering the forest.

Hermione's lips twitched upward, "No, I suppose not."

"What about in comparison to fourth year, when Skeeter wrote that you were two timing me with Viktor Krum and you received all that _fan_ mail?"

Hermione snorted, "No not as bad as that either."

"And next to that time you decided to invite Cormac McLaggen to Slugghorns Chrsitmas party?"

Hermione groaned, "I think that one might actually be worse than that article about my cheating on you…"

Harry chuckled while he rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling, "Well I think this one falls into the 'difficult yet tolerable' category then."

The witch didn't respond at first; Hermione squeezed his hand and took a few calming breathes. She nodded her head, "Yes… I suppose you're right. It's just a lot of miscommunication and missed opportunities I guess; should be easy to overcome with time."

"You need to talk about what's going through your head. You and I both know that you'll boil over if you don't; and we can't have to exploding with you and Elizabeth at steak now," Harry turned his gaze back to his best friend and offered a sincere smile.

Hermione easily returned the smile; Harry was one of the few people who could calm her like this and she so appreciated his presence at this moment, "What do you think Ron would say about all of this?"

"Oh, I think he would be a bit lost; like I am. But he would want you to be happy and move on. He loved you so much Hermione. I don't think _either_ of you even realized how much. And he would never want you to cower away from something just because of these crazy issues of tabloids and gossipy judgement. We both know you're better than that… and I should have known better than to try to isolate you from everything. I know you can handle you and your own," Harry looked ashamed as he admitted his part in 'protecting' her from the issue at hand.

"And I shouldn't have yelled at my best friend when he simply thought he was helping me. My hormones are a bit wild as of late, so I can't really fault you for trying to keep me out of this."

"Hermione?"

"Yes, Harry?"

"Do you like Fred?"

"I think I did… I mean do… I… I don't know," Hermione looked at her friend for any signs or guidance of where she should go from there.

Harry could almost see the gears whirling around in Hermione's mind, "Tell me."

The witch covered her face and begged the stinging tears to stay away, "I feel like I was just offered a chance with this wonderful person but then that opportunity was snatched away from me all in the same breath. How does that happen Harry? How could I have gone from feeling so much guilt over the possibility of these feelings, to elation at the idea that Fred had feelings for me too but then have it all taken away in the span of a few minutes?"

The messy haired wizard shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Hermione. I'm so sorry."

The pregnant witch smiled at her friend, "It's alright, Harry; this isn't your fault." Hermione stared at their joined hands and sighed, "Maybe it's better this way. Maybe… maybe my initial reaction was correct, and this wouldn't be a good idea. Better to get the crying bit over with before he gets home, right?"

Harry tried to smile, "Yea, maybe… But is that how you really want?"

Hermione avoided the question. "Would you mind staying until I fall asleep?"

"Of course not."

* * *

Harry remained next to Hermione until he was absolutely sure that she was sleep.

He gently removed himself from the mattress and covered his best friend in one of the quilts that were draped over the foot of the bed, before he went to the fireplace and flooed back to Gimmauld Place.

"…Shut it you old Hag!"

Harry smirked to himself as Ginny's screams carried through the house.

"You filthy little Blood-traitor! Remove your hands at once!"

"Make me you stupid fat portrait!" Ginny shrieked as she pulled on the edge of the portraits elaborate silver frame.

Harry leaned himself against the opposite wall and watched as his tiny girlfriend tried with every fiber of her being to rid the house of Walburga Black again, "I'm beginning to think that you'll end up injuring your fingers before you cause _that_ _thing_ any damage."

Ginny huffed as she let go and stood up straight again, "I'll deal with you more later…" she muttered as the portrait wailed something about gingers not having souls. With a quick flick the redhead closed the drapes around the old mistress of the house. Ginny held her arms out and Harry happily stepped forward to envelope her in a hug, "How's Hermione?"

"She's… fine I suppose. She was the strong one out of the three of us, so I know she'll survive… whichever way this whole thing goes," He frowned and the tiny witch pulled him tighter against her.

"Do you think there's anything we can do to help her?" Ginny pulled back from the embrace and laced their hands together as she led the way down to the kitchen.

Harry contemplated his options, "I think there might be something, but you're not going to like it."

"Oh really?" Ginny cocked her eyebrow and glanced at her boyfriend before putting the kettle on for tea, "Care to let me in on your deep dark thoughts, Chosen one?"

The wizard noticeably cringed; of all the names that he had been assigned, he'd grown to hate that one the most.

The redhead giggled, "Sorry… so what's the plan?"

"Well, you need to go home and patch things up with your mum before you have to go back to Hogwarts," Harry sat down at the little kitchen island and waited for the retort.

"And for who's benefit is that for?"

"To be honest… everyone," Harry smiled innocently. "Hermione doesn't need things to be awkward between her and your mum. I'm sure Fred could do without the glares and lectures that I'm sure your mum's been saving up. And I _certainly_ don't need her hating me for keeping you away from home so long."

"She's the reason I've been staying away from home…"

Harry reached over and took Ginny's hand. He pulled her around the counter until she was standing right in front of him. He leaned forward until their foreheads touched, "You and I both know that's not how your mum or your dad will see it."

Ginny scrunched up her face in protest, but relented, "Fine. I'll go tomorrow morning. But that means you owe me."

"Add it to my tab," Harry smiled before kissing his fiery redhead. "Thank you."

* * *

Harry knew that Ginny was going to be irritated with him, but it would just have to be something else added to the long list of things he would have to make up to her.

He pulled the thick pea coat on over his long t-shirt and jeans before be crouched down and kissed the top of Ginny's head. Harry smirked a little at the sight of her in his bed, wearing his old quiditch jersery. He rather liked having her so close. He hoped that she wouldn't be too cross with him…

Harry walked down Grimmauld Place and took a left turn at the traffic light. The cold bit at his exposed flesh causing him to jog the last few paces to the apparition point.

As soon as he got to the out-of-the-way corner, he turned on his heal and disappeared with a crack.

* * *

The weather wasn't much different from London; still painfully freezing. But the lights here were a bit brighter and they seemed to be everywhere. Harry wondered how anyone could ever get any sleep in this city with it being so bright at nightime.

Harry found the store with relative ease. He had apperated directly onto the wizarding street and had only needed to walk down three blocks.

He walked through the very familiar bright orange doors and strode up to the counter of the nearly empty store.

"Sorry mate, we're about to close up for the night. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Seeing as I was your first investor, I think you can stay open for a few minutes longer tonight," Harry stood in front of the counter, his face blank of emotion, "I've never asked for anything in return, after all."

The redheaded wizard turned around, looking completely stunned, "Harry?"

"Hey, Fred. Could we speak for a moment?"

* * *

 _Blah, this chapter was a bit painful to write. Hermione is a mess right now and I needed that to be very clear. Hopefully the little scenes with Harry and Ginny helped a bit. Lets see if Harry can help move this along... and sorry about another cliffhanger. It wasn't on purpose... the chapter was getting way too long...  
_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review** and let me know what you all think!  
_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' The Bookworm and The Prankster,' 'Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	17. Irrational Reluctance

_Hello!_

 _Thank yous all around to the Followers, Favorite-ers and Reviewers over the past week. jillcovey, Savita, dianaanne, MissesE, LUNA GURLZ, pianomouse and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; couldn't keep going without you guys!_

 _Let's see what Harry had to say..._

* * *

Chapter 17 – Irrational Reluctance

"Hey, Fred. Can we speak for a moment?"

The Weasley twin shuffled a little nervously as he closed up the register and locked it, "Yes, of course. Just give me a minute to close up the shop." Fred walked out from behind the counter and bid farewell and 'please come again' to the patrons that were now exiting the store. There was still a few minutes left until they were supposed to officially close, but he flipped the sign and bolted the front door anyway.

Three employees came out from the storeroom just as Fred was facing Harry again. A rather tall blonde smiled brightly at Harry as she passed the counter, "Well this is unexpected. I know you _said_ that you were friends with the famous Harry Potter, but I honestly wasn't sure if you were telling the truth, Fred."

"Yea, well he is dating my sister though, so don't get any ideas Lauren," Fred chuckled as he gave out after-closing duties to the workers and let them get to it so they could leave on time.

Harry noticed, with a bit of disdain, that the witch named Lauren seemed too comfortable with Fred. She leaned up and whispered into his ear and allowed her hand to linger a bit too long on his shoulder after she was done speaking.

Fred noticed the other wizard's expression and ushered him away from the front of the store, "Come on Harry. I'll show you the back office."

They walked through a bright orange curtain and down a short hallway to a simple, sparsely decorated office that held a desk, two chairs and a small couch. "Have you been sleeping here?" Harry asked when he noticed that the sofa had two pillows and a carefully folded blanket beside it.

"Yes, occasionally. The apartment I rented is actually in Washington DC. When I'm up here until closing, sometimes I'm not quite up for apparating back," Fred pulled two bottles of wizard's brew and cast a quick chilling spell over them before handing one to Harry. "Which begs the question, how did you know I would be in New York tonight?"

"I didn't. I mean, I had a feeling; and I have become fairly reliant on my gut feelings… But I wasn't positive," Harry pulled out another slip of parchment with his messy scrawl across it and Fred recognized the address of the DC store. "I planned on checking there next if I didn't find you here."

The redheaded wizard nodded his head, "Well, don't take this the wrong way, it is nice to see a familiar face; but what are you doing here?"

Harry stared at his unopened bottle of wizarding beer and placed it back on the table; he wanted a completely clear head for this discussion, "I'm here to ask you to come home."

"I can't do that."

"I realize that the shops are actually in need of work; and if you're reluctance to come home is strictly the welfare of the stores, I'll leave right now…" Harry paused to observe Fred's reaction.

The twin took a long draw of the beer and then leaned on his elbows and hunched over the table, "You know that's not the only reason."

"Then come back to England and at least attempt to fix this; face this head on. I'm sure whatever you've built this situation up into in your mind is much worse than the reality of it," Harry offered what he hoped was a kind smile; though he still had the image of the leggy blonde draped on Fred's shoulder.

"No matter what the situation; it's better for all parties involved if I stay away," Fred said this with such authority, it was almost believable. But something flashed behind the redheads eyes that caught Harry off guard.

He thought he saw sadness there and maybe a little bit of longing. He hoped that's what he saw at least, it could help in convincing the twin to come back. Harry took a deep breath; he wasn't sure how Fred was going to take this confession, "She knows; Hermione knows everything."

The blood drained from the other wizards face at those words. Fred quickly shook the surprise from his face though, and fell into a casual façade that would have been believable if Harry hadn't known the wizard for almost eight years.

"Let me guess… Ginevra spilled the beans?" Fred laughed, but it sounded strangely hallow.

"I may have had a hand in it as well. Don't go blaming Ginny for the entirety of it," Harry didn't feel right not having his girlfriend here to defend herself.

Fred snorted, "I doubt that very much… No, Harry; you would never had told her unless there was no other choice. You would have to be coerced into it somehow; or possibly trying to clean up a mess made by someone else."

Harry cleared his throat, "It doesn't matter who told Hermione at this point. The only thing that truly matters is that she knows and you two need to talk about things."

"Why would she want to speak to me at all, Harry?"

There was a beat of silence as Harry attempted to reign in his flaring temper.

"Because… she feels something for you too, Fred. But with you running away, you haven't exactly instilled in her any confidence that those feelings are warranted."

The edge in Harry's voice was difficult to ignore, and Fred felt the guilt in his stomach perform a somersault as he thought about the witch in question again, "It's better if I stay here. She doesn't need a complicated relationship on top of her already complicated life. Especially with Hermione being scrutinized by the whole of the wizarding community so regularly." He scoffed, "Did you know that they even run stories on you two over here? I picked up the paper just yesterday and it was running some pictures of you and Hermione from last summer walking around the burrow together. They wrote some degrading piece about how Elizabeth is _your_ love child. It was disgusting."

"And you think staying away from her is going to keep Hermione from being thrown into the spot light whenever those tabloid rags need a boost in their sales?" Harry's voice was a bit louder than he had intended, but he needed to get his point across. "Hermione and I are always going to be media fodder. Whenever something significant happens in our lives; they'll be there. If they need some cover story because their last issue tanked; they might even pull pictures of Ron out. You being there or not being there isn't going to change that! But if you _are_ there, at least you can make some stupid joke and give her a hug so that Hermione can laugh and forget about it!"

Fred stared at the black haired boy, eyes wide with shock.

Harry took a few breathes until he was sure that he wouldn't yell anymore, "Hermione is my family, Fred. She's the closest thing to a sister that I have; I love her. If you and she could get over your irrational reluctance, I think you could make each other very happy. I want… no, I _need_ Hermione to be happy."

The Boy-who-Lived, Fred noted, wasn't quite a boy any longer. Harry rose from his seat, "But if that Lauren girl is one of the other reasons why you can't come home, I think I would rather you stay actually."

Fred burst into laughter, "No, no. She's a good friend, but she's just a compulsive flirt, Harry."

"Well, you mentioned to George that you had been dating, so I assumed…"

"I may have been using the term dating very loosely." Fred smirked at the wizard standing in front of him and decided to confess, "I may have bought coffee for a few different girls recently. But it's a bit difficult to form a connection with someone when all you're doing is comparing them to someone else."

Harry nodded his head in understanding and tried not to smile too broadly, "Right, I'll keep that in mind."

"It will take me a day or two to settle things with the shops here and in DC."

"That's fine. Just come home as soon as you can," and Harry left without another word.

* * *

It hadn't taken Fred even a full day to make sure that the shops in New York City and DC were set up to efficiently run until the ebd of first quarter, when he and George would probably be coming back to check in and inspect again. He grabbed a very late lunch as he bid the workers goodbye and good luck.

Fred packed up his things from the leased apartment in just a few minutes; he had not brought very much with him when he had fled to North America. He swept his eyes over the empty flat one last time before apparating away.

* * *

With the time difference, Fred found that he arrived back in Diagon Alley just as most of the stores were closing down for the night. The sun had set long ago and the bright street lights were the only things that were illuminating the cold streets.

He strode into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes flagship store as Flora was turning the sign around on the door, "Fred! What are you doing here? George said you wouldn't be back for another few weeks."

Fred smiled felt strained, "Finished up a bit earlier than expected; I'm afraid I might have forgotten to inform Georgie of this in my rush to get home though. And I found that I missed England too much to stay away for much longer."

"Well, that's good news for us then. We've missed you as well. George already left for the night but he said he would be back bright and early tomorrow. Kal and I are just cleaning up and restocking before we head out," the bubbly witch went about swishing her wand over the shelves to straighten out the jostled products.

"Sounds perfect, Flo; Just make sure you lock up after you leave. I will see you both tomorrow morning," Fred bid them goodnight and followed the familiar path to the apartment over the shop.

Fred hesitated right outside of the door; a nagging fluttering feeling filled his whole body.

He pushed the feeling away and opened the door.

The apartment was dark, except for a small lamp that had been placed on the side table next to the sofa. Fred couldn't help but smile when his eyes fell over Hermione sleeping form. She was lying on the couch, bundled in a few blankets, while she cradled her protruding stomach.

He crossed the living room silently and picked up the fairy tale book that had slipped onto the floor. Fred knelt down so that he was eye level with Hermione. He had wanted desperately to speak with her as soon as he returned home, but she looked so peaceful there was no way he was going to wake her up.

Instead, Fred tucked a stray curl behind the witch's ear and brushed his lips against her forehead gently before he switched off the light and retreated into his own room.

* * *

Hermione stirred as she heard a door clicked shut.

She eyes fluttered open and she noticed that her book was on the coffee table and the reading light had been turned off.

Her hand immediately went to her forehead; she had thought it was just a dream…

Hermione pulled herself from the sofa with some difficulty and walked over to Fred's bedroom. She saw light spilling from the gap at the bottom of the door and her heart did a little leap in her chest. She raised her hand to knock, but the door opened before she was able to swing her wrist.

"I thought I heard something," Fred said as he threw caution to the wind and wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Hi, Fred."

* * *

 _Yay! Fred's back. Now we get to see where they're going to go from here. Love you all dearly; please let me know what you thought!_

 _Please **Follow** , **Favorite** and **Review**!  
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 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' The Bookworm and The Prankster,' 'Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	18. Catching Up

_Hey!_

 _Huge thanks to the Followers, Favorite-ers and Reviewers for last chapter. Bruceman, LUNO GURLZ, Guest, jillcovey, pianomouse, MIssesE, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; I couldn't do this without your lovely words._

 _So sorry about not updating last week. I needed a week off to go over this story and make sure that I was addressing everything that I wanted to happen. Still chugging along and hoping that you all will greatly enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 18 – Catching Up

Fred woke up on the sofa in the living room, but he couldn't have cared less about having to give up his bed the previous night.

After Hermione had woken up and found him back in his bedroom, they had stayed awake for a little while and just caught up. She had asked that they not talk about anything serious that night, since she was absolutely certain that she would fall asleep again. So Fred had told her about the States and the shops and Hermione had told him about the 'false labor' incident. And true to her word; Hermione had fallen asleep after repeating for a third time, to a very confused and slightly angry Fred, that Harry and Ginny were possibly to blame for the most recent unscheduled trip to St. Mungo's … though she wouldn't go into how or why.

Fred had tucked her into his bed and took one of his pillows to the couch. He didn't think it was totally appropriate to sleep next to the witch when they hadn't even had a discussion about a possible relationship…

* * *

Hermione frowned as she woke up.

It couldn't have been real; it must have just been a dream… a lovely, torturous dream.

She sat up in the bed and looked around the room in a daze, "Wait…" A smile slowly crossed her face as Hermione realized that she was in Fred's room and not her own. She peered through the open bedroom door and spotted Fred as he walked around the kitchen searching through the cabinets and refrigerator.

Hermione heaved herself up and padded into the kitchen, "You won't find much, I'm afraid. I need to go grocery shopping."

Fred flashed her a wide smile, "We can do that today if you like. George doesn't even know I'm back yet. I might be able to skive off work if I can bribe Flora and Kal to not inform on me." He pulled a carton from the back of the fridge, "Brilliant, we still have some eggs. How do you like your eggs now?"

"In the carton at the back of the refrigerator?" Hermione smirked at the frown that was now in place on the wizard's face. "Sorry, the consistency of eggs makes me nauseated now. So who _does_ know that you're back from America?"

"Well, that puts a damper on me making you breakfast… Oh, um… just you, I suppose. And Flora and Kal saw me arrive last night. Harry probably has a general idea of when I was coming back, but that's about it really."

"Why did Harry know when you planned on coming home?" Hermione raised an eyebrow as she clasped her hands around her belly.

Fred shrugged absentmindedly and began looking through the pantry for something else to serve for breakfast, "Oh, you know… He was asserting himself as your 'family.' He told me I was being a prat and such. I guess it was warranted; and it worked."

"Apparently," Hermione smiled sadly and took a seat at the small table next to the kitchen. "But does that mean that if Harry hadn't decided to 'assert himself,' you wouldn't have come back?"

Fred immediately halted his search for food. His stomach did a flip when he saw the timid look on Hermione's face. "To be completely honest; I'm not sure," He didn't feel like it was right to lie to her. "I really thought staying away was in everyone's best interest."

Hermione wasn't comforted by the confession, but she did appreciate that she was finally getting bits of the truth, "Were you ever planning on asking me what my thoughts were on the subject?"

"No. I thought if I stayed away long enough, the feelings would go away and I wouldn't have to," Fred twitched at the brutal honestly of his own words.

"Will you ask me now?"

Fred gazed at Hermione, trying to gauge where the conversation had taken such a sad turn. He supposed that the air needed to be cleared completely though… if they wanted to give this a real chance.

Fred walked over to the table and adjusted one of the chairs so that he could sit directly in front of the witch, "Hermione, I really like you. I think I have for a long time now; I just tried to ignore it since it wasn't convenient for anyone at the time. Am I completely barmy?"

"Maybe a little…" Hermione truly smiled when Fred began to laugh at her retort. "I mean, you do have very bad timing; I'm extremely pregnant, you see," the witch smoothed her hand over baby bump and chuckled a little too, "I'm due in about two weeks actually, and then there's the whole upheaval of my life when the baby's born and I'll suddenly have a new little life to care for… So, are you certain you know what you're signing up for?"

"I don't care about the extra bits, Hermione." Fred took her one of her hands in his own, "If you're not comfortable with the idea of dating right now, I can wait. But you're stuck with me."

"And you won't be running off again?"

Fred shook his head, "No, I won't run again. I'm staying right here until _you_ tell me to leave."

"Good. Because I really want you to stay."

* * *

There was a lot of tabloid fodder that circulated around Hermione and Fred after the first public sighting of them together, even though they were simply holding hands. The Daily Prophet ran a horrendous piece just a few days later reviewing all of Hermione's 'conquests' over the years. The witch had just laughed darkly at the piece and thrown it into the fire, after she used her wand to snatch the paper from behind Fred's back.

Thankfully the slight stress didn't seem to affect Hermione and Elizabeth at all; in fact she was a week past her due date.

"I'm going to die."

Fred tried not to chuckle, "You're not going to die."

"How do you know; are you a Healer?" Hermione's voice was strained and her uncomfortableness seeped into her voice, setting it on edge. "I'm sorry… I'm just so tired of being pregnant." She was lying on the couch with her head in Fred's lap while he sat back and read through the inventory sheets for the store.

He reached down and caught one of the witch's hands, "It's fine. You gave me fair warning for what I was signing up for, remember?" He gave her a sweet smile and squeezed her fingers gently. They had been growing closer over the last few weeks; just enjoying each other's company and openly flirting without the worry of other people's judgements.

"I suppose I did. But I'm not sure if that shows how prepared you are or how absolutely crazy you are. I mean, I'm irritable _all_ the time," Hermione sat up and leaned against the back of the couch, "All you do are nice things for me and all I do is gripe at you. You've been so wonderful to me and all I can keep thinking about is how awful I'm being. I mean this baby isn't even yours, yet your sitting here absorbing all of my hormonal anger…"

"Hermione, stop," Fred placed a hand on the witch's cheek and attempted to calm her down. "Elizabeth might not be mine, but I'm still happy to be here. I care for you both, so you getting all emotional over this is fairly irrational." He let the logical argument sink in a little, "And imagine; if I can handle all the mood swings, tabloids and initial awkwardness of this… I'm pretty sure I can take on anything life intends to throw at us."

"You're sure?" There was a slight crack in Hermione's voice, but the beginnings of a smile crept across her face.

"Positive." Fred leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

* * *

Elizabeth Grace Weasley finally made her appearance the seventh day of February. She was almost a full two weeks late and labor had been a grueling nine hours, but none of those concerns even entered Hermione's mind as she gazed into the dark blue eyes of her little girl.

Fred had been there through the whole labor, holding her hand and muttering encouraging words as he made small jokes to put her at ease and make her smile through the pain. He was now passed out on the small couch in the corner of the room; he'd been awake for over twenty-four hours, so Hermione thought he had earned the rest.

Everyone had been by to visit already; her parents and all the Weasleys had come and gone, with promises to visit again tomorrow if Hermione wasn't too tired. Ginny had even gotten a pass from Hogwarts, but her visit had been cut short due to an essay that had been interrupted when Hermione's water had broken.

Only Harry remained, awake and seated by Hermione's bed, "She's perfect, Hermione."

Hermione's smile was so wide that her cheeks were beginning to feel sore, "She is, isn't she."

The dark haired wizard looked over his best friend and his goddaughter with such love, "I'm really proud of you."

"For what; surviving childbirth?" Harry smirked at Hermione's playful comment; it was good to see her laugh.

"For _all_ of it really. You survived the War, losing Ron, being pregnant…" Harry looked over at Fred's sleeping form and smiled, "…Moving forward. And of course I'm extremely proud of you for giving me an absolutely flawless goddaughter."

Hermione's eyes fell over the slumbering wizard, "I'm still worried… Is that fair to Fred, with a little part of me always belonging to Ron? Am I insulting Ron's memory, if Fred and I… "

Harry stood up and sat himself in front of Hermione on the bed, "Fred already knows all of that. It hasn't changed how he feels about you in the slightest. And Ron is probably looking down on you two right now, just as proud as I am." He smoothed one of the tiny auburn curls on Elizabeth's head, "Ron died saving me; and in turn, he saved us all. He would want you both to be happy."

"Even if happiness might be found with one of his brothers?" Hermione chuckled awkwardly.

"Well, I didn't say Ron wouldn't be jealous…" Harry motioned for Hermione to skootch over. He magically widened the bed so that he could sit beside the witch comfortably. Hermione leaned her head on her best friends shoulder as he continued, "But Ron would want you to find someone who loved you as much as he did; someone you could love back just as much."

Hermione snorted and shook her head, "Love? Really Harry? Fred and I aren't even dating yet. It's more of a pre-dating thing. You can't possibly love someone when you're not really together."

"Well, I've never known Fred to be traditional is any sense. And you're a bit strange sometimes too," Harry noticed Hermione's eyes narrow at him, but it didn't deter him at all. "That man loves you, or at least likes you _very_ much. And you… you're catching up quickly."

* * *

 _Yay! Eliza's here! Sorry, didn't want to spend a whole lot of time on labor; wanted more time with Fred and Hermione together and Harry and Hermione talking some things out so we can continue forward. Hope that's alright with you all!_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!  
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 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' The Bookworm and The Prankster,' 'Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	19. Their Beginning

_Hi there!_

 _Thank yous all around to anyone who Followed, Favorited, or Reviewed last chapter. brightminds.2o11, LUNA GURLZ, MissesE, and xXMizz Alec VoturiXx; you four are brilliant and I dedicate this chapter to you as a thank you for your kind words._

* * *

Chapter 19 – Their Beginning

The last month had been _quite_ interesting for Hermione.

She had learned rather quickly that all the books in the world cannot prepare you for a child… at least not completely. The books had helped her figure out a few things, but more of general ideas; like setting up a sleeping and feeding schedule, how much to feed the baby or the basic ideas of how to give a baby a bath. …And her absolute favorite; what color poop meant something was terribly wrong.

But the books didn't tell her that Elizabeth would only drink her milk when she could see you in her small field of vision, or that she refused to sleep without the giant stuffed dragon that Ginny and Harry had gotten for her. Hermione had also learned that Eliza loved bath time even long after the water became cold, but the baby couldn't be left in the water for that long a period of time due to the worry of sickness.

Hermione's mother and Mrs. Weasley had been mostly helpful throughout everything, but Hermione did find that they offered contradicting opinions a lot of the time. And that usually caused her more stress.

So Fred had taken it upon himself to form the game, 'Granger, Weasley or Book.' The game commenced whenever Hermione came across something unknown with the baby and each of the grandmothers had offered differing opinions for. Fred would pull out one of the many baby books that Hermione had purchased and look up whatever suggestion the text had on the subject. Then Hermione would pick whichever method that she preferred, and went from there.

Throughout the crazy month, Fred had been simply wonderful. He was always able to calm Hermione down when she panicked and if she needed a few moments alone in between Elizabeth's naps, Fred would take the baby down to the store for a short period of time.

She and Fred had reached a strange unspoken understanding. From the outside, they probably appeared to be a comfortable, 'old married couple'. They still slept in separate rooms and hadn't been very intimate as of yet, but anyone could see the affection and caring nature that passed between them with complete ease.

Hermione was slowly realizing that Harry's observation of them was right.

* * *

Ever since Elizabeth's birth, Fred had thrown himself whole heatedly into helping Hermione take care of the new little Weasley. He found it even easier to fall in love with the child than her mother.

Eliza was a very good baby. Even though Fred had only very faint memories of Ginny when she was this young to compare, he thought _this baby_ was perfect. She hardly ever cried, usually adhered to Hermione's schedules and Fred could have sworn that Elizabeth smiled at him a few days ago. Though Hermione insisted that it was just some kind of reflex and she noted that baby smiles aren't definable until two months of age. But he knew it had been real and he just needed to be patient until it happened again so that Hermione could witness it as well.

Fred was also doing his best to be patient with Hermione, but a month of being so close to her and not really being able to act on his feelings was becoming unbearable.

They had many private moments that mostly just remained tender or flirtatious. Fred's favorite thing so far had been the several times that they had fallen asleep on the sofa together; Hermione's arm draped across his chest and his arms holding her protectively against his side. There had been a few fleeting kisses on the cheek, but they mostly felt like those habitual encounters that you have with loved ones; caring but not passionate.

But this was still what Fred wanted. He couldn't even bring himself to imagine his day to day life without Hermione and Elizabeth.

* * *

"You're sure you're ready for something like this?" Fred gently rocked Eliza as she began to fall asleep in the baby carrier on the kitchen table, "I know Mum and everyone would understand if you're not up for a Weasley family dinner."

"This is not just a Weasley family dinner and you know it," Hermione called from deep within her closet. She was packing anything she could possibly think of needing for the baby while they were away from the apartment. She put one more burp cloth into her magically expanded bag and tied up the purse strings with relief, "That's the last of it I think… oh, and we _have_ to go. This is George and Angelina's wedding shower. It's basically just a party before they're big day; I thought you would be excited."

Fred chuckled as Hermione opened the little purple bag again and carefully placed another pacifier into its depths, "I'm _excited_ for George and Angelina… just not about this party."

"Why not?" Hermione asked as she went into the kitchen to prepare a bottle of milk.

"Maybe I was hoping for our first adventure back into the real world would be just us; not you, me, Elizabeth _and_ my whole family," Fred smirked as Hermione froze; she hadn't expected that.

Hermione set down her bag and the bottle that she had just found. She walked over to Fred and wrapped her arms around his waist, "You have been a _saint_ these last two months. I really can't express how much I appreciate how patient you've been with me and Eliza; thank you." Hermione rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to Fred's cheek, "Would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow?"

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Fred's smile was practically blinding.

"I am. It's almost the twenty-first century, girls can ask blokes out too," Hermione mirrored his smile. "And if we go to this party, I'm sure we can find a suitable baby sitter for Eliza."

"Ahh… that was masterfully done, Miss Granger," he shook his head and smirked at her slight manipulation.

"Why, thank you Mr. Weasley. Now let's get going before we're late."

* * *

The party for George and Angelina had actually been quite fun. From the very second they stepped into the Burrow, Elizabeth was taken away and shuffled between the aunts, uncles and grandparents. Hermione's heart stopped a few times when the baby was handed off, but Fred stood beside her and made sure that the witch didn't overreact too much. After a while, Hermione and Fred had been able to enjoy themselves and mingled and caught up with family and friends.

They had also found a babysitter rather quickly. Molly had immediately volunteered to babysit her grandchild when she overheard Fred discussing the subject with Bill and Fleur. The couple was expecting their first child in May and had asked if they could train themselves up a bit with their niece. Molly suggested that Fleur and Bill come over the next day as well and joked that they could learn under supervision.

* * *

The next morning passed in a bit of a whirlwind for Hermione.

She had been excited about the date with Fred, but taking that first official step was beginning to make her anxious. Every time she looked at the clock it seemed to leap forward.

Almost too soon, it was seven o-clock. Hermione repacked everything she could fit into a slightly modified diaper bag she had charmed and got Elizabeth ready and dressed for the visit to the Burrow.

Hermione was fairly proud of herself for only needing two tearful goodbyes with Elizabeth before she was able to walk away from Mrs. Weasley. Fred took her hand and laced their fingers together as they walked toward the edge of the protective wards around the Burrow. She smiled at the wizard next to her as she took his arm and apparated them away.

"Are we eating at the Leaky Cauldron?" Fred smirked as he took in their surroundings.

"Not today. Maybe our next date?" Hermione chuckled as she waved at Tom and led the way into Muggle London.

"Well, I'm significantly more confident then if you're already planning a second date and we've barely even begun our first." Fred took her hand again and lifted it to his lips; he kissed the back of her hand as they continued down the sidewalk, "So where are we going?"

"Well I had a craving for fish and chips again. I thought we could go back to that quaint little pub you took me to and I could treat this time."

The pub, in Hermione's opinion, was the only place that she could have taken Fred for their first date. When she had looked back on that first visit to the restaurant, she had realized that it had been one of the first moments that they had really connected. They had discussed how they felt about the War and the aftermath; it had truly been a comfort to talk to him about it all. Hermione had also realized that moment had been the first time she hadn't felt so alone, and maybe… maybe that was also the first time she began to see Fred as more than just a friend.

They sat down on the same side of a little booth in the back of the pub and both ordered the fish and chips. The conversation came easily; they spoke about Fred's work with George and the shop as well as when Hermione would return to work and what she wanted to accomplish until then. They continued talking long after their food was finished and a third round of drinks were ordered to make sure they weren't bothered for the table.

"So, will _I_ get a chance to plan a date anytime soon?" Fred asked in a teasing voice as he brushed his fingers across Hermione's cheek.

The witch smiled as she leaned into his touch, "I suppose I could be persuaded to let you plan our next date."

"And how would I convince you of postponing your own ideas for that outing?"

The smile that crossed Hermione's lips was almost wicked, "You could try kissing me."

Fred didn't need any more encouragement. He leaned forward and captured Hermione's lips with his own; he had wanted to do this for such a long time. The kiss was gentle, but still commanded Hermione attention. She couldn't help smiling as she tilted her head slightly to deepen the contact. It felt like everything around them simply melted away.

They pulled apart as they heard someone clearing their throat.

"Bill?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the eldest Weasley's gaze fell to the table.

Fear wrapped around Hermione's heart and she stood up immediately, "What's happened? Where's Elizabeth?"

"Mum and Fleur took her to St. Mungo's and I came to find you and Fred."

Fred immediately threw some muggle money on the table and grabbed Hermione's hand.

The group of three found a nearby apparition point and immediately reappeared inside the entrance of the Magical hospital. Hermione plunged her hand into her bottomless purse and began shuffling around for her Healer ID card, but the receptionist recognized both Hermione and Fred and waved them through.

They took the elevator to the second floor and a nurse pointed them to a private room right across from the nurse's station.

"What's happened?" Hermione asked the Healer who was looking over the results of a diagnostic spell that he had just cast over the baby.

"It seems to just be a bad case of magical flu. Nothing we can't handle though," the Healer turned his attention to Hermione. "Oh, Healer Granger; is this your little one?"

"Hello, Healer Pyne," Hermione nodded her head, "Yes. This is Elizabeth." She held out a finger so that the fusing baby could grab hold. Hermione noticed that Eliza felt very warm, even just her hand.

"She's absolutely beautiful." The Healer wrote a few things down on the chart and handed it off to the waiting nurse, "We've already administered the anti-flu potion, and I would like to keep her under observation for the night to make sure the potion takes full affect. But, I have no doubt she will make a full recovery."

"That's wonderful. Thank you. We can stay with her until she's released, correct?"

"Of course; but not _all_ of you I'm afraid. Usually the rule of thumb for my ward is only the parents of the child stay overnight," Healer Pyne glanced at Hermione and Fred's linked hands. He smiled at his fellow Healer and continued in a low voice, "But that can have different interpretations at times. I will be by in a few hours to check in."

After the Healer and nurse left, Molly, Bill and Fleur all began apologizing simultaneously about the baby getting sick as soon as the door closed again.

"We are so sorry…"

"Elizabeth was so happy, she didn't even seem sick…"

"But then she began coughing and running a fever…"

Hermione smiled, "It's fine; truly. Babies catch cold, it happens all the time. And if Molly couldn't fix it herself, coming to the hospital was the right thing to do." She turned her attention back to Eliza, "I'm just comforted by the fact that you all love her so much you feel responsible for her falling ill."

Fred grinned proudly at the way Hermione was handling the situation, "Come on you lot; time for us to go home."

"Wait, where are you going?" Hermione walked over to Fred and gently pulled on his elbow.

"You heard the Healer; only parents allowed."

Hermione looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes, "But I want you to stay; I need you here."

Fred looked back at the family members he had just ushered out of the room; even his mother looked on with an approving expression. "Alright, yea… of course I'll stay."

They said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, Fleur and Bill before settling into the small hospital room together. Hermione was relieved that she hadn't dressed up too much for the date; her dark jeans and fancy yet over-sized sweater would be comfortable enough to sleep in. Thankfully the potion that Healer Pyne had given Elizabeth had been sleep inducing as well and the baby now looked peaceful.

Fred took off his jacket and transfigured it into a huge blanket as Hermione enlarged the sofa and made herself comfortable beside him, "I think she's going to be alright. She already looks better; doesn't she look better?" Hermione tried to keep her voice even; though she could still hear the unease that reverberated through each word.

"Yes; she looks much better," Fred insisted with a cheerful tone, "She's a fighter, just like her Mum. I'm not worried in the slightest."

She released a sigh of relief. She curled into his side under the blanket and laid her head down on his shoulder; all the while never taking her eyes off of Elizabeth, "Sorry about our date. I'll pay you back."

"Don't even think of it," Fred chuckled as he pressed his lips to Hermione's head and wrapped an arm around her, "This is what I want anyway."

Hermione chuckled, "What; _this_? You want to be stuck at a hospital with me and Elizabeth instead of out on a proper date?"

"Maybe not this _exactly_ ," Fred shifted a bit uncomfortably until Hermione raised her head and met his gaze. He swallowed with some difficulty, "But this is what I want. You, me and Elizabeth."

She felt her whole body begin to tingle, "You… you're sure? You want the crazy, neurotic witch I've turned into and a little baby that isn't yours?" Hermione's voice was soft and she tried to not sound too hesitant.

Fred simply nodded his head, "Yes. I want all that. Is that all right with you?"

Hermione felt everything inside her flutter at his words, "Yes. I think I'm alright with that." She jumped a little as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly on the mouth; she poured every ounce of happiness she felt into that kiss. Hermione wanted Fred to know that this was everything that she wanted too.

This was their beginning.

* * *

 _It is bittersweet for me to say this, but the end is near. This is the last chapter in the continuous story line. All that is left now is an epilogue._

 _But I will leave it up to you all. Would you like just one time jump chapter, to get a gimps of everything eleven years from this point? Or would you all rather two or three separate jumps to see how everything progresses?_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!  
_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' The Bookworm and The Prankster,' 'Thrown Back' and 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief.'_


	20. Happiness

_Hello there!_

 _Thank yous to all who have followed this story to this point. Everyone who had Followed, Favorited and Reviewed this little fic; you have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of you for your support. And thedoane0816, Jily71102, mollsballs, xXMizz Alec VolturiXx, Ice chemist, MissesE, and CauldronWalnut; thank you for your kind words._

* * *

Chapter 20 – Happiness

This Saturday was the day of Elizabeth's first birthday party.

Everything was already planned and taken care of, but Hermione still woke up extremely early that day in a panic. The party wasn't even until later that afternoon, but Hermione was beside herself with anxiety over all the details. Her actual birthday had been on Monday, and she and Fred had celebrated Elizabeth quietly with cake and a new toy terrier puppy… but the family party was getting out of hand…

Hermione sighed heavily and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Fred?" She reached an arm out but her hand was met with only an empty spot next to her; no tall ginger wizard.

She had 'moved' into Fred's room when Elizabeth was six months old. He had made a grand gesture of it; taking her and the baby out to dinner just to ask if she would move her things over to his room so it could become _their_ room. Hermione had chuckled but had secretly loved the formality of it all. They had magically extended the closet to fit all of their things and had also bought a new king size bed together to cement the idea of the room belonging to them both. Hermione had excitedly turned the other bedroom into a full nursery for Elizabeth, with a small pull out couch to replace her old bed. Only a few other things changed around the apartment, but those changes had mostly been done due to baby safety or updating appliances.

Hermione climbed out of bed and grabbed one of Fred's old sweatshirts before venturing into the sitting room. She smiled at the sight that met her that morning.

Eliza was seated in her highchair; but instead of being tucked under the dining table, the baby was seated in the very center of the kitchen. She clapped wildly as Fred cooked animal shaped pancakes and had each little elephant, giraffe and monkey perform a little dance before settling on the serving plate.

"She's not going to let us eat those now that you've made them into her friends," Hermione bent down and laid a kiss on Elizabeth's head.

"Mama!" the baby happily called as the witch tucked a delicate auburn curl behind Eliza's ear.

Fred smiled almost as widely as the baby, "Good morning, Love. Did you sleep alright?"

Hermione nodded, "Surprisingly well, though I scared myself awake thinking about how many people are coming to the party this afternoon."

"Well that's good, because I was slapped at least twice last night with your tossing about. You may have to kiss me to make me feel better," Fred smirked as a small smile came to the witch's face. Hermione tilted her head up and kissed the wizard lightly on the lips.

"Dada," Elizabeth cried and held her little arms up above her head.

Fred and Hermione stared at the little girl in shock.

The baby had taken to calling the wizard _'Ed'_ since the F sound was a bit difficult for her age, and this was the first time she had uttered a different title for him.

"We would never forget about you, Birthday Girl," Fred hurriedly waved his wand and set the pancakes to pour and cook themselves. He walked over and lifted Eliza up into his arms, "You… I didn't… she must have picked that up from Bill. He was trying to coax Victoire into saying 'Dada' yesterday when we had a play date."

Hermione simply smiled, "It's fine, Fred. This isn't a problem." She saw how nervous the wizard was and tried to ease his mind, "We're just going to be one of those families where ' _Dad'_ and ' _Father'_ mean different things; different people. It doesn't mean anyone matters more or less. We're a little nontraditional, but we're still a family."

"You're sure? I don't mind being just 'Fred', as long as I'm her favorite uncle," he tried to laugh at his own joke, but the lead feeling in his gut didn't allow him to.

"Of course," Hermione stepped forward and wrapped Fred and Elizabeth in a hug, "Eliza is going to be raised knowing that her _Father_ loved her even though he never met her, and her _Dad_ loves her and helps me raise her every day."

Fred offered a small sincere smile, "Well… you're probably going to have to tell me that a few times before I fully believe it; I'll need the reassurance once in a while."

The witch shrugged casually, "I'll say it as many times as you need to hear it. You _are_ her Dad; and you did make that official a few nights ago."

"Are you sure you don't want to tell anyone today?" Fred looked sheepishly at Hermione and ran his thumb over the row of diamonds that encircled the witch's ring finger. "You know it won't stay secret for long."

A wide smile took over Hermione's expression. She looked down at her hand and admired the sparkling ring.

* * *

 _The night before Elizabeth's birthday, after Fred had calmed her down from a small party planning debacle, Hermione had put the baby to bed and joined the Weasley twin on the sofa. He had suggested a movie to get her mind off of the stress of planning what had originally been a small, simple party that had now blown up into a huge gathering of family and friends that she was very unsure would fit into her parent's house._

 _She had just nodded off while tucked into Fred's side, when the wizard shook her gently, "Hermione? Love, can you wake up for just a minute?"_

 _"Hmm, is the baby alright? What time is it?" she blinked her eyes rapidly in an attempt to wake herself up._

 _Fred chuckled lightly, "Yes, Lizzy's fine. She's still sleeping. It's just past midnight; it's Lizzy's birthday," He readjusted himself so that he was now face to face with the sleepy Hermione, "You know that I love you, right?"_

 _Hermione couldn't keep the smile or the blush from flooding her face, "Yes, and I love you very much too."_

 _"And you know that I love Elizabeth and this little life we've carved out for ourselves," his leg bounced nervously against the couch._

 _"Is something wrong? Fred…"_

 _The wizard's laughter seemed strained, "No, everything's fine." He tried to smile reassuringly at her, but it didn't calm her worries._

 _Hermione stood up and pulled on Fred's hand, "Come on, let's get to bed. This week is going to be crazy and I need all the rest I can get."_

 _But Fred didn't move, "I really like our crazy life. I wouldn't change anything about it… except maybe one little thing." The wizard didn't let go of Hermione's hand as he slid off the sofa and knelt down in front of her, "It was exactly a year ago today that I held your hand and stayed by your side as you brought Lizzy into the world. That was actually the day that I knew that I loved you. You're the strongest person I know, and I honestly can't believe that we share a life now. I'm so lucky to be a part of your and Elizabeth's lives. And if this isn't what you want… or if this is too soon you can say 'no', but…" He looked down at their joined hands before meeting her gaze again, "Will you marry me, Hermione?"_

 _She felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest. Hermione flung her arms around the wizard's neck, "Of course I will." She squeezed her eyes shut to try to ward off the happy tears._

 _Fred stood up and began to chuckle, "You're sure?"_

 _"Yes, I'm sure," Hermione pulled out of the embrace to look at the laughing wizard who was wrapped around her. She grinned and shook her head at the beaming smile Fred now wore, "Did you really think I would say anything but 'yes'?"_

 _Fred quickly silenced the conversation by slipping the ring on her finger and capturing her lips with his own. They spent some intimate time celebrating their engagement before finally drifting off to sleep._

* * *

"No, I want to keep this our secret until after the party at least," Hermione reluctantly took the diamond band off her left hand and placed it on her right ring finger. "I want today to be all about Eliza, even though she won't remember a moment of it."

Fred smiled sweetly down at his fiancé and hugged her a little tighter.

* * *

The entire day passed too quickly.

Before Hermione even had time to breathe, the party was over. It had thankfully been a huge success. Everyone who had been invited had had a wonderful time catching up and visiting with Elizabeth. And the birthday girl had more than enough toys and clothes to last her until her next birthday.

Eliza currently sat on the floor in Fred's lap next to Harry and Teddy. Most of the attendee's had already gone home, but few close people had stayed to help clean up and just continue spend time together.

"Those two are awfully cute together," Ginny said as he looped her arm through Hermione's.

"Aren't they? Teddy's simply adorable," Hermione looked on as the little twenty-two month old in Harry's lap continued to change his hair color to make Eliza giggle.

"Oh, Ted's always cute; fast learner too. He just realized last week that he can change his hair at will and now look at him. But I was actually talking about Freddie and Elizabeth," Ginny cocked an eyebrow at her friend and smirked.

Hermione felt the warmth spread over her cheeks, "And what are you trying to insinuate this time Gin?" She forced a laugh from her throat and clutched her right hand to make sure the ring was still there.

The redheaded witch smiled wickedly, "Oh… I just know the secret you're keeping."

"That's ridiculous, because there is no secret to keep," Hermione shifted from one foot to the other as nonchalantly as possible.

"So, the fleeting glances, quiet whispers… those lingering touches that almost made me gag," Ginny walked her fingers up the other witch's arm. "That was all just your normal sickening sweetness?"

"Yes, it was." Hermione nodded her head , "Ginny, you always complain that we're too sweet together. This isn't news." The witch chuckled and felt her shoulders relax.

"Then what is the new shiny bauble on your finger that you've been playing with all night?"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up and she froze in place; she thought she had gotten through the night without anyone noticing. It was true, she had caught herself spinning the still foreign ring around her right ring finger several times that night. But it had always been while the focus was on the birthday girl; she thought no one had seen her.

Ginny untangled their arms and grabbed for Hermione's hand before she could hide it away. "Wow, Fred did quite well; didn't he?" Ginny smiled as she inspected the five stone band, "Harry owes me ten Galleons now."

"What?"

Both witches began to laugh, "I bet Harry that you and Fred would be engaged around Eliza's birthday. He guessed Christmas, but I said that was too cliché."

"Christmas; really? When would Fred have had the time?" Hermione felt her nerves settle as she remembered the hectic scene that the joke shop had been for the entirety of December, "I was surprised he and George were even _awake_ for Christmas dinner this year."

"Exactly; too cliché and just not a sensible time for Fred," Ginny tried to look serious, but she broke almost immediately. A smile easily crossed her face, "Are you happy?"

Hermione bowed her head slightly, "Very. Harrier than what is probably appropriate."

"Never," Ginny wrapped an arm around the other witch, "You have _completely_ earned this happiness Hermione Granger. Don't you ever let anyone tell you differently."

Hermione slipped off the diamond band and placed it back onto her left ring finger. She looked up to find Fred looking at her and offering a brilliant smile. He waved the two witches over and patted the carpet beside him.

 _Yes_ , Hermione thought to herself and beamed, _I did earn this happiness…_

* * *

 _What did you all think of that?! Too sickly sweet or just enough fluff?_

 _Look for at least one more jump. =)_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!  
_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back', 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief' and especially __' The Bookworm and The Prankster' if you're a Fremione shipper!  
_


	21. Married Life

_Oh man, I'm so sorry for the radio silence. Life, unfortunately, kicked my butt this week._

 _Thank you to all the Followers, Favorite-ers and Reviewers for last chapter. Guest, Jily71102, jillcovey, and xXMizz Alec VolturiXx; you all are incredibly wonderful._

* * *

Chapter 21- Married Life

"Ginny, you look beautiful. Now stop pulling at the gown," Hermione tried to sooth her friend's anxious nerves as she grabbed the redhead's hands.

"I just… I can't believe we let this get _so_ out of hand…" Ginny squeezed the other witches hands tightly and closed her eyes in an attempt to collect herself. "I mean, my entire team is here!"

Hermione tried to cough to cover her snort, "Well, Harry wanted you to be able to invite all your friends."

"I _know_ that." Ginny pulled her hands back and began picking at her newly manicured nails, "I just didn't think that they would all agree to come. That's six, plus the four we currently have in reserves... and Harry even convinced his Aunt and cousin to come... and my family is basically never ending. Almost everyone we knew at Hogwarts is here, because Harry's too kind to leave anyone out. And I know I was the one who suggested such things… I didn't realize he would just go along with everything!"

"It will be fine, I promise," Hermione offered Ginny one of the untouched glasses of champagne.

"No, just the thought of food and drink is making my stomach do somersaults," Ginny frowned deeply and placed a hand over her stomach as she took measured breathes to help with her abdominal issues.

"Well, when Luna gets back with the water you better drink some of that then," Hermione narrowed her eyes playfully, but hoped that Ginny would still take the threat to heart, "I won't have you fainting in the middle of the ceremony due to dehydration."

Ginny exaggeratedly rolled her eyes, "Look, I know I should have had more to drink during the engagement party… but it was just so hectic. And that was just with family! What on earth am I going to do now?!"

"What if we talk about something else to get your mind off of all the people at this wedding then?" Hermione offered with a kind smile.

Ginny nodded her head, "Alright, what should we talk about?"

"What about… Oh! Eliza decided what she wants her birthday party theme to be this year," Hermione chuckled as she thought about the eccentric little girl that her daughter had become.

"From that look, I'm guessing nothing normal like princesses or fairies," a smile pulled at Ginny's lips.

"Of course not!" Hermione threw her hands up in defeat, "This is the same child that decided that her fourth birthday was going to be a proper English tea!"

Both witches broke-down into laughter; the impending walk down the aisle, in front of hundreds of people, was temporarily forgotten.

"So what does she want to do for her fifth birthday then?" Ginny took a tissue and lightly dabbed her laughing tears away; being careful not to smear the hard work she and Angelina had done earlier with the makeup.

Hermione smirked and shook her head, "Elizabeth wants dragons. She's made a long list of every single dragon she can think of and she wants Charlie to have a story ready for each one of them."

"Oh! Charlie is going to adore doing that!" Ginny exclaimed with excitement.

"I know; but I'm not quite sure how I'm going to explain to some of Eliza's preschool friends why her uncle acts like he's an expert on _mythical_ creatures," Hermione sighed heavily but still managed to smile.

"Who needed water?" The conversation was halted by Luna floated into the room and carefully handed Hermione and Ginny each glasses of chilled water. "I thought maybe the cold water would help in balancing out your cold feet and help you realize that all these feelings are perfectly natural."

Hermione laughed at the confusion on Ginny's face, "I do _not_ have cold feet. The only thing I'm terrified of is all those people I was daft enough to invite to this wedding. I have absolutely no reservations about marrying Harry."

Luna didn't seem fazed by the defensive edge the bride's voice had taken, "Of course you don't have cold feet over Harry. But it's perfectly normal to have nerves before an event like this. Even if you're completely prepared and at ease over the marriage, the wedding can still be quite hectic and frightening."

The dreamy eyed blonde had been married for a year and a half now, so she spoke from experience. Luna had invited many of the same people to her own wedding, though not as many had been able to attend.

"It will be fine Ginny, just drink your water and try to take some deep breathes," Hermione offered as she sat down on one of the small couches in the room.

"Oh, what would you know Hermione? Your and Fred's wedding was tiny in comparison to all this. You got to have the perfect small wedding that everyone insists that they want but never end up having," the redheaded witch huffed a bit as she perched on the stool in front of the full length mirror.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she reminisced about her and Fred's wedding. It _had_ been perfect, at least to her. They had only invited immediate family and a handful of very close friends to the little chapel, and they had set up a decent sized tent in a nearby park to house the reception. Everyone had been asked to dress casually and just enjoy themselves. Fred had looked so handsome in his tan slacks and a simple white button down. And Hermione had been overjoyed with her unconventional, dusty pink, flowy gown; though Fred had suggested that the dress looked _far_ better on their floor…

They had married the summer immediately following their engagement and had never looked back. There were a few scandalous reports in Witch Weekly and the Daily Prophet, but Fred made it easy to forget about the harsh words and judgments that had been thrown Hermione's way.

Ginny sighed heavily again, "Someone please talk to me. Say anything, really. I just need to get my mind off of things until I absolutely have to think about walking down the aisle."

Luna had just begun rambling about the Crumple-Horned Snorlack that she had been searching for with her father last summer, when there was a knock at the door.

Hermione stood and cracked the door open slightly to see who it was.

"Mummy!"

Elizabeth squeezed through the tight opening and jumped into Hermione's arms, "Hello, Darling." She kissed her daughter lightly on the forehead, "What are you and Daddy doing here? I thought you both were waiting with the rest of the boys until the ceremony began."

"We might have had a fight with Teddy," Fred explained as he affectionately tucked a strand of the little girl's curly auburn hair behind her ear.

The young witch nodded her head, "Teddy's being really mean to me. He said I had cooties and he said that he won't hold my hand when we have to walk down the hallway before Aunt Ginny."

" _Aisle_ , Love. Not hallway," Hermione corrected gently. "And it's alright, I'm sure it will all be sorted before we know it. Why don't you go talk to Aunt Ginny and Aunt Luna for a minute? Don't forget to tell Aunt Ginny how pretty she is."

Elizabeth skipped over to her aunts after Hermione placed her back on her own feet.

* * *

When their child was completely occupied with her aunts, Fred pulled his witch into the hallway, "Hermione will be right back." He captured his wife's lips in a searing kiss before she could protest. The wizard was a bit surprised when Hermione reached up and laced her fingers through his hair and deepened the kiss. Fred smirked as he pulled away from her mouth, "You better not let your husband catch you kissing me like that. I've heard that he's the jealous type."

"Is he?" Hermione playfully batted her eyes, "He's never seemed the jealous sort to me. He's almost faultless in fact; loving, helpful and always making me laugh. What of your wife though? I've read that she's some horrid gold-digger who burdened you with someone else's child?"

"Oh, her? She's gorgeous and as sharp as a tack; absolutely brilliant in fact," Fred leaned down and pressed his lips to Hermione's once again. "Oh, and that daughter of hers; she's completely perfect. I'm lucky to have them in my life."

"Then why are you kissing me?" Hermione tried to keep a stern face and continue to play along, but she broke down into peals of laughter. Fred's broad grin only made her laugh harder.

He gently cupped the witch's cheek as she finally caught her breathe. He lightly grazed his knuckles along her abdomen, "Everything going alright... with Gin?"

Hermione nodded, "Everything's fine. Ginny's just a bit anxious about all the people. I don't quite understand it since she's fine when thousands of strangers watch her chase a little winged ball; but put her into a long dress in front of a hundred or so family and friends, and she's basically pulling her hair out." She shrugged, "But I'm being supportive regardless and trying to get her to stay hydrated so we don't have a repeat of the engagement party."

Fred snorted and shook his head, "Yes, that would probably be a bad idea."

"So what's all this about Teddy?" Hermione settled against Fred's side as he protectively wrapped his arms around her middle and leaned his head down on her own.

"Teddy was telling some of his friends at his prep school about what he was doing in his godfather's wedding. He was apparently very excited until those friends began teasing him for having to hold Lizzy's hand. The other little boys said that girls have some horrible thing called _cooties_ … Elizabeth was completely heartbroken when Teddy refused to take her hand when we asked them to practice walking together," Fred smirked and shook his head, "Harry's talking to him right now; but trying to reason with an almost six year old…"

"That's too bad, they used to be so cute together," Hermione glanced sadly at the closed door next to her.

"Yes, well I haven't lost hope. I'm sure Teddy with smarten up," Fred squeezed his wife gently to reassure her. "I still have faith they'll end up together sooner rather than later."

Hermione chuckled and rolled her eyes, "They're only four and five years old right now. Don't go putting together a dowry for our daughter just yet."

"I would _never_ do such a thing…" the wizard answered with such a shocked expression, Hermione was concerned that she had offended him somehow. "I was actually thinking of what kind of dowry Teddy could bring if they got married. I mean, the Black fortune has been in dispute for years now, but Teddy is the first born grandchild of Andromeda… and she is the technical heir after Sirius and Regulus."

"Seriously?" Hermione burst out laughing and tried to cover her face with her hands. "Merlin… you are ridiculous sometimes."

The genuine smile on his wife's face made Fred snicker, "And yet you seem to like having me around still."

"I do; very much. And I plan on keeping you around for quite some time… obviously," Hermione leaned up so that her lips were dangerously close to her husband's, "But right now we need to help Ginny and Harry. _This_ will have to wait until later."

Fred narrowed his eyes at the witch, "Teasing hurts, Hermione." He swept her up into his arms, careful not to squeeze her too tightly, and kissed her briefly before spinning her around, "But have it your way; later then."

* * *

Hermione was still a little dazed as she reentered the bridal suite and called for her daughter, "Daddy is going to take you back to the boy's room. I'm sure Uncle Harry has taken care of this silliness with Teddy by now. Alright?"

Elizabeth silently nodded her head. She did not look excited by the prospect of going back to see Teddy, but the little girl was trying to be on her best behavior for her aunt and uncle. She kissed her mother on the cheek and ran into Fred's open arms.

Fred kissed his daughter on the forehead, "Ready, Lizzy?"

"Ready, Daddy," Both Fred and Elizabeth offered farewells before returning to the boys room.

"She's getting so big, Hermione!" Luna exclaimed with a wistful look, "She looks so much like Ron."

Hermione found her smile easily, "Yes, she does. Has a bit of his temper at times, but Fred helps her stay positive and I try to teach her how to express herself better than her father did."

"Alright, I'm going to sound like a complete arse," Ginny's smile was a bit strained, "But I really don't want to talk about my dead brother right now. I love Ron and he better be here in some form or fashion, but I need something to distract me… Please?"

"Honestly, Ginny…"

"I'm serious! I've only five more minutes until my Dad is supposed to come get me… haven't you anything to divert my thoughts?" the look in the redhead's eyes were pleading now.

Luna and Hermione glanced at each other and smiled.

"Fine. There's one thing I think might completely distract you, but I want you to keep in mind that I wasn't going to tell anyone this until after you got back from your honeymoon," Hermione rung her fingers a bit nervously, "I wanted today to focus on you and Harry, but if you need a distraction… and I know this will distract you, you were a bit obsessive last time…"

"Out with it, Hermione!" Ginny threw a bobby pin at the stammering witch. Luna tutted at the bride and waved her wand over the redhead's hair to temporarily freeze the remaining pins in place.

Hermione rolled her eyes, but couldn't hide the smile that was creeping across her face, "I'm pregnant. Fred and I are going to have a baby."

"Oh, that's wonderful news!" Luna stepped forward to embrace her friend and offered more congratulations.

"Thank you Luna. We're very excited, but we wanted to keep it to ourselves for a bit, so please don't tell anyone just yet," Hermione turned her attention to her sister-in-law. She was surprised to see utter shock written all over Ginny's face, "Is… are you alright, Gin?"

The redheaded witch's expression wavered from shock to confusion to anger all within the span of a few minutes. "Why on earth… how in Merlin's name... that doesn't make me feel any better, Hermione!

"Ginny, that's uncalled for. You're the one who asked…" Luna began to softly defend Hermione as Ginny crumpled to the ground.

"Gin?!"

"Ginny?!"

Luna and Hermione rushed to the bride's side and were relieved to find that she was still conscious… and she was _laughing_.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry for acting completely _mad_ today. It's just that the wedding became so huge, and I'm terrified by the thought of people watching me get married, and…" Ginny raised her eyes and gazed at the two witches beside her, "And _of course_ I'm happy for you and Fred, Hermione. It's just that your story didn't exactly distract me from my nerves."

The dreamy blonde's smile was almost blinding as Luna realized what Ginny was hinting at a second before the realization hit Hermione.

"No... really?" Hermione tried to not sound too excited.

Ginny nodded her head and held up three fingers, "Three month along. I've been out of my mind with worry... terrified that the dress wouldn't fit, that my mum would ask too many questions and then my whole family would begin figuring it out…"

"Well, we will make sure that no one finds out," Hermione grabbed hold of Ginny's elbow and helped her stand up. She and Luna straightened out the gown and vail and fixed the bride's makeup until it was flawless again. "Just tell us if you need anything, and we will cover for you."

"Of course we will. Everything will be perfect tonight," Luna happily agreed, "But first you have to proclaim it like Hermione did. It's very bad luck for the baby if you don't, especially with all the stress you've been under."

Ginny felt a small tug at the corners of her lips as she thought about the little child growing inside of her; the baby that was half her and half Harry…

"I'm pregnant."

* * *

 _Really wanted to show off some of the couples around Hermione and Fred as well as showing the ease of their own relationship._

 _Just to confirm; Ch. 20 - Happiness was 1 year after, and this chapter is four years after CH. 20._

 _Please let me know what you think! There is still one more jump after this one. =)_

 _Please Follow, Favorite and Review!  
_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _Ps. Check out my other stories too; ' Thrown Back', 'Penelope Jackson; The Lightning Thief' and especially __' The Bookworm and The Prankster' if you're a Fremione shipper!_


	22. The Platform

_This is very bittersweet for me. This is the first story that I've written to completion._

 _I just wanted to thank each and every one of you who have Followed, Favorited and Reviewed this story. You all helped me much more than you could ever imagine._

 _Thank you._

* * *

Chapter 22 – Platform 9 3/4

Fred held tightly to the little girl's hand as they wove their way through the thick throng of people at the station. His mind begrudgingly reminded him that he really shouldn't refer to his daughter as _little_ anymore… She was after all, eleven and a half, and on her way to Hogwarts today.

He glanced down at the young witch beside him and thanked every deity he could think of for the miracle that she hadn't reached the age where holding her dad's hand was unacceptable. Elizabeth looked a bit jumpy from all the pent up excitement that she had tried to conceal for the past few weeks. The little witch had expressed her worry about leaving her siblings and didn't want them to be upset about not being able to attend the magical school yet, so she had taken it upon herself to not talk too excitedly about leaving home.

And even though Fred knew how excited Elizabeth was about finally going to Hogwarts, he also saw the flickers of worry that crossed her face, "You're not still nervous about being sorted, are you?"

Elizabeth tilted her head up and smiled, "Of _course_ I am. Mum's been going on about every characteristic of each house since my birthday this year. I have no idea which house I would fit into better… or which traits I hope to have later on."

Fred chuckled lightly and swung their joined arms, "Everything will be _fine_ ; I promise."

The approached the seemingly solid brick wall and Fred saw his daughter flinch slightly, out of the corner of his eye, as they passed through the barrier.

"That was kind of fun…" the witch heaved a sigh of relief and smiled again.

"Eliza!" Ginny called from a few meters away.

The red head was cradling her own little daughter and waving animatedly at her niece. Harry was close by speaking with Teddy, James and little Albus, as Andromeda stood by with slightly sad eyes.

"Hi Aunt Ginny," Elizabeth hugged her godmother as tightly as she could without disturbing Lily, "Hey 'Lil."

"Where's your Mum?" Ginny asked as she scanned the crowd that had just entered the platform through the barrier.

"Hermione's parking the car," Fred explained a bit dismissively, "That woman doesn't seem to trust me with any kind of muggle vehicle." He withdrew Elizabeth's shrunken trunk from his pocket and restored it to full size.

"Yes, well that might have something to do with you, George, Ron and a you-know-what," there was a slight sparkle in Ginny's expression as she remembered the story from her own first year at Hogwarts.

"Oh, I already know about Granddad's flying Ford Anglia. You don't have to speak in code."

Fred's mouth fell open and Ginny began to laugh heartily, "How did you find out about that?"

Elizabeth shrugged casually, "Uncle George. He told me all about it last Christmas."

"Merlin…" Fred rubbed the side of his face forcefully, as if doing so would make the situation disappear. "Don't tell your Mum you know about that. She'll have my head and George's."

Ginny adjusted the toddler on her hip as she continued to chuckle, "I actually have to agree with your Dad, Eliza. Do _not_ tell your mother you know about that car. She'll probably go after your uncle Harry as well since he was the reason those three stole it."

"They _stole_ it!?" Elizabeth shouted with surprise; her little voice climbing a few octaves.

" _What_? I thought you said George told you," Fred crouched down and frantically pulled at his daughter's hand to get her attention.

The shocked expression melted away instantly from the young witch's face, "Oh, he did; just needed to poke the dragon a bit before I go. I'm going to be gone for almost four full months you know…" And evil grin spread across her face.

Everyone's attention was now on Elizabeth. Harry shook his head and tried not to smile too widely, "She is definitely _your_ daughter, Fred."

"Why wouldn't she be his daughter?" Hermione's voice had a slight edge to it after years of defending underhanded comments about Elizabeth's parentage, "Hugo Ronald Weasley, stop running this instant."

The little auburn haired boy slowed down slightly, but still hurried over to his cousins. He was almost as tall as James now and his golden brown eyes, though wise for a six year old, always twinkled with a little mischief.

As Hermione fell into place beside him, Fred leaned over and kissed her temple, "Nothing, Love. Just joking a bit before Lizzy has to board the train."

The witch didn't seem to completely believe him, but she smiled regardless and greeting everyone cheerily.

Fred squatted down until he was eye level with the smallest of their children. He smiled as he tucked a curly strand of bright red hair behind her ear, "What's the matter, my Felicity Rose?"

The little girl, who had just turned four years old, gave her father a watery smile, "I want to go with Lizzy to Hogwarts."

The adults who heard the young witch chuckled lightly at her words.

"Don't worry Fae, we only have seven more years until we get to go," Albus smiled as he tried to comfort his best friend.

"That's _forever_ , Al!" Felicity sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes as the entire group laughed heartily.

Elizabeth wrapped an arm around her little sister, "Don't worry Fae, I'll make sure to write you and Hue every week. Just make sure you don't get into too much trouble. And don't do too many pranks with Dad while I'm gone." She leaned over to speak directly into the little girl's ear this time, "We'll have to plan our Christmas prank through Owl this year, but we'll manage."

Felicity grinned widely at her sister and nodded.

The big scarlet engine's horn blew to signify the five minute warning. Teddy stepped forward with a shy smile and helped Eliza place her trunk into the compartment that he was sharing with some of his friends.

Elizabeth sprinted back and hugged her sister tightly before pulling Hugo into a similar embrace. The little boy pretended to be embarrassed by the sudden affection from his older sister, but he whispered a quick, "Good luck. I'll miss you," before anyone could hear him.

The little witch hurriedly hugged the rest of her family goodbye, even accepting an embrace from Andromeda as Teddy also made his way around the group accepting goodbyes and wishes of luck in his second year.

Harry and Ginny quietly wrangled Hugo and Felicity so that Hermione and Fred could have a private goodbye with their oldest child.

"Are you ready, Elizabeth?" Hermione tried to smooth down her daughter's wild hair. She was attempting to hold herself together and not cry at the idea of her oldest child leaving home, "Remember, if you've forgotten anything, Dad and I can Owl it to you. And don't worry about the Sorting Hat; though I still don't completely agree with dividing the students at such a young age, it does seem to have an insight into people. We will be happy and proud of you whatever house you belong to, dear…"

"Make sure to write us at least once in a while. You know how your Mum worries," Fred said as he wrapped a supportive arm around Hermione's waist. "And I'm sure Teddy can answer any questions you have about the castle or concerns over any of your classes."

Elizabeth nodded, "I know, Dad. Uncle Harry already talked to Teddy and me about all that. And Teddy promised to help me if I need anything."

"Alright; good. Make sure you pay attention in class, keep the pranks to a minimum and… enjoy yourself, Elizabeth," Hermione's smile was tight but her eyes still shown with happiness.

" _Really_ , Mum?" The young witch bounced on the balls of her feet, "No long winded lecture about buckling down, taking school seriously and focusing on what's important?"

Hermione shook her head, "That would be a bit hypocritical of me. I took school seriously, but it was mostly due to the fact that I thought I had to prove my placement at Hogwarts. Your father, Harry and I broke a lot of rules while we were at school; your dad and George did as well. So I know better than to expect you to completely stay out of trouble. I want you to learn, but you also need to enjoy yourself." Hermione felt the tears collecting in the corners of her eyes, "Promise me?"

Elizabeth smiled a bit sheepishly at her mostly stern mother and suddenly flung her arms around the older witch, "Yes, Mum; I promise."

Fred chuckled to himself as he watched his wife and oldest daughter lovingly embrace.

The engine again blew its horn to give warning of its impending departure.

"Come on Eliza, or we're going to miss the train," Teddy waved the witch over and hopped through the open compartment door as he held a hand out to her.

Elizabeth kissed Hermione on the cheek and quickly hugged Fred before running after the Hufflepuff boy. They smiled and waved at their families as the train began to slowly pull away from the station.

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Hermione muttered to Fred as she tilted her head onto his shoulder.

"Of course she will," Fred wrapped his arms lovingly around his wife and tucked her head under his chin. "Lizzy is smart and tough, and she has Teddy to help her when she gets into too much trouble."

Hermione snorted, "That poor boy. I can't believe they used to hate each other with the way they interact so pleasantly now."

"Ah, young love… does crazy things to a person," Fred sighed heavily for emphasis.

"Good Lord, Fred," the witch pulled from her husband's arms and playfully hit him on the arm, "They're too young for such talk; they're just _friends_."

A lopsided smile began to form on Fred's face as a familiar mischievous glint flickered in his eyes, "What to bet on that?"

The witch's eyebrows knit together as Hermione shook her head, "No, I think I'd rather not…" She looked back at the long train that was still visible in the distance, "You know, if they do date when they're older… you won't be so chipper about the idea. You only joke now because they're adorable and too young to cause any trouble."

The smug expression fell from Fred's face as Hermione's careful words were processed, "Ah… yes, let's no bet on that. Or talk about it any further…"

It was Hermione's turn to look a bit superior, "It's alright, Freddie. She's only eleven. We have a few years until we really have to worry about things like that." She pressed her lips against her husband's cheek and felt his tense stance relax slightly.

Hermione and Fred stood there in comfortable silence as they watched the Hogwarts express, until it completely disappeared from sight.

* * *

 _I really hope you all enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I've had some trouble letting go of it, but I hope that you all feel like I've ended it well enough._

 _SeverusSnape'sLove - thank you! I hope this chapter was also just as good._

 _Shmandypants28 - Thank you for the kind words._

 _MRSDARRENCRISS589 - This one is it I'm afraid. Hope you like it!_

 _xXMizz Alec VolturiXx - thank you so much for your constant support._

 _Love you all **so much**!_

 _Always,_

 _Misha_

 _ps. If you still need more Fred and Hermione, please check out 'The Bookworm and The Prankster.'_


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